A World Away A Final Fantasy X2 Military Fanfic
by GEN Yuna and SGT Tidus
Summary: Tidus is a Sergeant in the Spira National Guard and finds out that he is getting deployed to a warzone. His fiance, Yuna, is distraught. Will Tidus return to her safely? This story is a tribute to a friend's memory who was killed in Iraq in 2006.
1. An Unwanted Call

Hey Guys, i've been wanting to do a Final Fantasy X-2 military fic, and here it is. Like I said in the summary this story is done as a tribute to my friend, Private First Class Chris Marrion, who was killed in a roadside bomb attack. May he rest in piece. As a military service member myself, I know how hard a deployment is on a relationship, so there will be a few real experiences in here. Enjoy the Story!

Chapter 1: An Unwanted Call

**Tidus' P.O.V.**

It was a bright sunny morning on the isle of Besaid. Birds were chirping; the temperature was warm with a light sea breeze lifting up from the cove. In the beach house just above, the telephone rang before my fiancé and I were awake. The house was a gift from her parents to her upon graduating from Zanarkand High. I slowly got out of bed and answered the ringing phone. I was wearing a pair of running shorts and a gray Army t-shirt. "Hello?" I asked sleepily.

_"Tidus? This is Nooj. I need you to report to the unit as soon as possible."_ said the voice over the phone.

"What's up?" I asked just before I yawned.

_"I'll explain everything when you and everyone else get here."_ replied Nooj before he hung up.

I walked back to my room and pulled out my military uniform. I looked around my closet for my combat boots and set them next to the bed, under my Army Combat Uniform. I pulled off the t- shirt and put on the tan under shirt, before pulling on my ACU pants. I then walked into the bathroom and looked at my face, wondering if I should shave. With a sigh, I lathered on some shaving cream and reached for my razor._ I wonder why I have to report. I hope we're not getting deployed._ I thought as I rinsed the razor._ Actually, we may be getting sent to Macalania to help with disaster recovery. _I added mentally, remembering the tornado that had gone through the city last week_. _I finished shaving and headed back to my room to finish getting dressed. I pulled on my ACU top and sat down to lace up my boots. I turned to my headboard to look for my beret and found it lying next to a picture of me and my fiancé, Yuna, whom I shared the house with. The picture was taken three years ago when we were seniors in high school at the homecoming dance. I was the star player of the Zanarkand Abes Blitzball team, and I was crowned homecoming king. Yuna was an honor roll student and part of the school's choir, and she had been crowned the homecoming queen. In the picture, we were sharing the king and queen's dance.

I pulled myself out of my memories with a sigh, grabbed my beret and car keys, and headed out the door to my '69 Chevy Camaro Z28. The car was yellow with black racing stripes, chrome dual exhaust pipes, cowl induction hood and underneath it, a 327 cubic inch engine with a 650 cfm carburetor coupled to a five speed manual transmission, high rise intake and aluminum heads. I had received the car from my father upon graduating from Zanarkand High not long after the homecoming dance. I had always wanted this car, ever since dad had bought it for 'just' a weekend project. Dad and I had spent many days fixing up the car, even working on the interior and the paint. The car was the second most important in my life. The first, of couse, was Yuna.

I inserted the key in the ignition and started the car. I then pressed the clutch pedal in and moved the gear shifter into reverse and backed out of the driveway. I pointed the car towards Luca, where the unit was located, and sped off down the road.

**Yuna's POV**

Back in Besaid, I awoke and looked at the clock. The time read 8:42am. I yawned and got up, walking to Tidus' room. Seeing his empty, unkempt bed I figured that he must have gone downstairs to make breakfast. I tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen, a playful smile on my lips. I opened the door a little and peeked into the kitchen. When I didn't see Tidus, I was confused.

"Where is he?" I wondered aloud. I snapped my fingers, figuring where he might be. "I know! He's probably waiting in the living room." I smiled and ran to the room. Tidus wasn't there, nor was he in the rest of the house. That was unusual. Frustrated, I sat down on the couch and looked out the window.

"That's weird, his Camaro isn't here. Where the hell did he go? It's not like him to run off without at least telling me." I huffed, crossing my arms across my chest. I swore I would get him for that.

**Tidus' POV**

I had arrived in Luca. I pulled up to Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 3rd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment; my National Guard unit. I parked my Z28 next to another Camaro, shut the car off and walked inside to my office. A soldier was waiting for me.

"Hey Sergeant Williams, what's going on?" he asked with a friendly smile.

"Not much, Chris. How's Amy?" I replied. Oh yeah, that's right, I'm a sergeant baby. And a bad ass one at that.

"Eh, she's ok, just a little worried about me getting called in." said Chris as he sat down in the chair next to my desk. "Have you told Yuna yet?"

"No, she was still asleep when I left. I might want to tell First Sergeant to be ready to do a funeral." I said as I sat down and turned on my computer.

"Why's that?"

I looked at my subordinate. "'Cause when she finds out that I left without waking her, she's gonna kill me." I glanced up as the company commander, Captain Shuyin Hodges walked in. "Morning, Sir." I said.

"Morning Tidus, Chris. How are things?" he asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Ok, if we can figure out why we had to report. Oh, I have that paperwork you requested from the Alpha Company commander." I said as I handed CPT Hodges the manila envelope.

"Ah, yes. It's about time Captain Styles sent these." he said as he took the envelope. Shuyin then looked at his watch. "Formation in ten minutes on the drill floor." he then walked out of the office and turned right down the hall.

_Probably headed for First Sgt. Nooj's office. _I thought. I glanced at the clock on the wall and said; "We'd better get out there and see what this is about, Chris" I got up and headed for the door. Chris followed suit.

In the hall, as we walked towards the drill floor, Chris spoke. "Well, Amy and I are finally gonna tie the knot."

I looked sideways at him. "And when's this supposed to happen?" I inquired.

"We're hoping in about two months." he replied with a sigh.

When we walked in, almost everyone was already in formation. There were a few latecomers, myself and Chris included.

The First Sergeant was already in front of the formation, ready to call the company to attention. After everyone was in their platoons, Nooj went to the position of attention. His hands were at his sides, his thumbs in line with the seam of his trousers. His heels were together, toes apart at a 45 degree angle. He spoke. "Company, attent-_ion_!" He put emphasis on the last syllable. At the command of execution, attention, Headquarters and Headquarters Company went from the position of parade rest, hands clasped behind their backs at the waist, feet shoulder width apart, and snapped to the position of attention, all eyes locked on the first sergeant.

"Good morning everyone. I'm glad to see everyone could make it. You're probably wondering why you've been called in."

_'Oh boy. Here it comes.'_ I thought as Nooj continued.

"I have in my hand a copy of military orders." he held up a few official looking papers. "First off, we've been activated." he looked grim as he spoke. "Captain Shuyin will take it from here." With that he turned and assumed the position of attention. The company commander walked up and Nooj saluted him. Shuyin returned the salute and Nooj turned and walked a few steps to the left of the captain.

"At ease." said Shuyin. The company went back to parade rest. The captain, too, looked grim, confirming everyone's suspicions. "Alright, like my first sergeant said, we are being deployed to Odaiba." Groans erupted from the company, prompting Shuyin to hold up his hand in an attempt to silence everyone. "There is good news though. We will be on base. Our job as Headquarters and Headquarters Company is to provide support while on base. We will have control of the west side, which includes the Post Exchange, movie theater, pool and the airstrip. There are already cooks over there, so you don't have to worry about eating Sergeant O'Conner's 'mystery meat'." the captain added with a smile. Laughter rung out.

"Oh, come on! It's not that bad!" said SGT O'Conner, with a smirk on his face. He knew the captain was only joking.

"It's ok, Brad, I could ask Yuna to teach you how to cook if you want." I told him, grinning.

"On a more serious note, I need everyone back here in two weeks so we can get ready for convoy to Fort Mi'ihen on the Mi'ihen Highroad. We will only be thereone day, so make sure you get any last minute items at the Fort. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until we get to Camp Talon in Odaiba." the captain looked at the company. "Stop by Sergeant Williams' office for your packing lists." he resumed the position of attention. "Company, attention!" The company snapped to attention.

"Dismissed!" he proclaimed before walking over to me. "Tidus, a word if you don't mind."

"Sure Shu, what's up?" I asked. Shuyin and I have been friends since seventh grade.

"I know that this is going to be hard for Yuna, therefore I must stress that you tell her immediately." said Shuyin as we walked towards the parking lot.

"I had planned on it."

"Good, 'cause the unit really needs you over there. I don't want Braska influencing anyone to keep you here."

"Shuyin, I plan on going, even though I may not want to." I replied, stopping next to my Camaro.

"Alright. Lenne and I'll see you at the bonfire tonight." replied Shuyin as he headed towards his 2002 Mustang GT convertible. Chris came walking out of the building as Shuyin was putting the top down on his car.

"You gonna tell Amy tonight?" I asked.

"Don't have much choice, do I?" Chris replied with a half hearted smile. "At least we're on base, so the only thing I really have to worry about is a mortar attack."

"That's the spirit. Come on let's get out of here, our girls are waiting for us." I said I got in my Z28. Chris opened the door to his, but didn't get in just yet.

"Hey T!" he called.

I rolled the driver's side window down. "Yeah?" I called back.

"Race ya back to Besaid." said Chris, grinning as she sat down and started his car.

I smiled and shook my head as I put the transmission in reverse. I backed put of my parking spot and shifted into first gear. I drove to the end of the parking lot and waited for Chris to pull up behind me. So, I turned on my cd player and played "Hero" from the Spiderman movie. It was a kick ass movie, which is kinda funny, I never was a big Marvel Comics fan.

When Chris finally pulled up, I revved the engine, the 327 singing its exhaust note through the duals, and popped the clutch, causing both rear tires to break their contact with the road. Smoke billowed from the tires as the car turned onto the street, the rear end threatening to overtake the front. It's what you would call drifting, I let off of the gas a little and the Z28 straightened itself out.

All of a sudden, my cell phone rang. I flipped it open and asked, "Hello?"

_"Show off."_ complained a voice from the other end. I heard music in the background and figured it was Chris.

"What do you want, Chris?" I asked, a smile working its way across my face.

_"I gotta get gas before I run out on the way back to Besaid. Hell, I'll buy you some for that drift you just did."_ he said.

"Sweet. Meet me at the Snak Atak on 34th street." I replied. "I could use a Coke anyway."

_"Ok. Later."_ said Chris as he hung up.

After getting gas and a Coke, we headed for Besaid to break the news to our families. I hoped Yuna wouldn't kill me for leaving like i did that morning. Women are unpredictable.

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Since you are probably wondering, Tidus and Yuna are 21 and 20 respectivley. just so you know. Oh and chapter 2 will be up whenever i get it back from my editor. Thanx for reading!


	2. Torments and Nightmares

**Hey Guys, here's chapter 2! currently working on chapter 3 so whenever my editor in chief, Sahrah Marmlade- leonhart gets it back after i finish it, i'll post. i'm currently on military orders until the 25th of july, so updates SHOULD come pretty regularly. don't quote me on it. something later on in the story will happen that will probably want you all to kill me. soooo, if you wanna find out, keep reading. 'Nuff said. Enjoy the chappie!**

**Oh, in case anyone forgot what an ACU is, it's the Army Combat Uniform and HHC is Headquarters and Headquarters Company. Those acronyms will be used throughout the story. Enough of my rambling, enjoy!

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**Chapter 2: Torments and Nightmares**

**Yuna's P.O.V.**

It was about three in the afternoon, and Tidus still wasn't home yet. I was beginning to get worried, and was about halfway up the stairs to my room so I could get my cell until I heard the unmistakable rumble of his… car. I swear, he spends too much time with that car. I turned and walked back down the stairs, scowling slightly as he walked through the door in his uniform. He had his ACU top slung over his shoulder. As he walked in, he tossed his car keys on the table and closed the door. He seemed to be acting a little strange, like something was on his mind.

"Where have you been?" I asked as I shook away thoughts of him seeing someone else. I knew, well, at least I thought, that he would never cheat on me. I mean, we had been together since our junior year of high school, had been engaged for about ten months and had lived together for six, so I honestly thought he wouldn't cheat on me.

"Oh, I just had some business to take care of," he replied. Again, I noticed something amiss; he glanced at me and then looked away, like he had something to hide. "It's nothing really." He flashed that reassuring smile that made my heart melt every time he did it.

I walked over to him and threw my arms around his neck as we embraced in a blissful kiss. "Next time, at least leave a note when you leave without telling me," I said as our lips parted. "Oh, and don't forget about the bonfire tonight."

He chuckled and said, "That's like forgetting about you, and it ain't gonna happen."

**Later that night at the bonfire. Normal POV.**

Tidus and Yuna departed their beach house after the sun had set, walking hand in hand towards the bonfire on the beach. The air was warm, and a calm breeze was blowing in off of the mainland. People from the village were milling about, some sitting by the fire, others playing in the twilight surf. Tidus was looking for someone he recognized when someone threw their arm around his neck and pulled him down into a noogie.

"Hey, brudda, how ya been? Nice to see you haven't forgotten about us, ya?" said a slightly taller, slightly older man with an orange cowlick.

"Nice to see you too, Wakka." grunted Tidus from between the man's arms as Yuna giggled.

Wakka opened his mouth to say something, but was cut short by a Blitzball to the back of the head.

"Vidina, don't throw things at your father when he's not looking," scolded a stern-looking woman with black hair. Noticing Yuna, she inquired, "How have you been, Yuna?"

"I've been ok, Lulu, except for Tidus leaving early this morning without telling me." The brunette threw a playful glare his direction, which went unnoticed as Tidus was trying to disentangle himself from Wakka's stranglehold.

"Whadda ya doin' makin' Yuna all worried like that?" Wakka asked as he let go of Tidus.

"I wasn't trying to worry her, I just… had a couple of things to take care of," replied Tidus, scratching the back of his neck like he had something to hide.

Wakka didn't notice the gesture, but Yuna sure did. '_Why do I get the feeling there's something he's not telling me?' _she pondered. It worried her. _Could _Tidus really have another girl on the side? '_No, he's not like that. Those were just rumors in high school that the jealous skanks thought up just to get us to break up. I'll ask him later,' _she resolved mentally.

"Come on, there's barbecue fresh off of the grill," said Wakka as he and Tidus started towards the bonfire.

**Yuna's POV**

I stood there talking with Lulu (How big Vidina has gotten since I last saw him!) when a woman my age with long brown hair walked up and said, "Hi Yuna. How are you?"

I stopped talking with Lulu only to reply, "Hi Lenne. I'm ok." I glanced over at Tidus who was having a conversation with Chris, one of the soldiers from his unit. I wish to Yevon he never would have enlisted during a war.

"How are _you_?" I answered after a moment's hesitation and looked back at my friend.

"Something eating at you?" asked Lenne with an eyebrow arched. "You're usually not this preoccupied." I fell silent for a moment, wondering if I should tell Lenne what was going through my head.

"No, I'm fine." My friends just stared at me. "Really," I stated as I defended my position, trying to look innocent.

Lulu knew better than to press the issue. She knew that I would let others know what was bothering me when I was ready. She gave a look at Lenne as if to say; 'Don't push. She'll let us know when she's ready.' Lulu really understood me. Having grown up down the street from her, I looked at her like she was an older sister that I never had.

Lenne must have understood what the look meant because she didn't press the issue. First she looked at Lulu, then at me and took a swig of her beer. Ugh, beer; I prefer my Spira's finest Merlot wine. It tastes really good after dinner. I don't see how Tidus, or Lenne for that matter, can stand drinking beer.

We chatted until my stomach growled for food. I excused myself and went over to the buffet. It looked so good; grilled fish, barbecued ribs, grilled corn-on-the-cob, and even some grilled Zu. I'm not a big fan of Zu meat, so I got a few ribs and a piece of corn, then looked around for Tidus. I spotted him sitting on a log looking out to sea. I couldn't see his boyish face because he had his back to the fire. He was hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees with his hands clasped together under his chin.

"Hey baby, what are you thinking about?" I asked as I licked some barbecue sauce off my finger before I sat down. I also resisted the urge to ask if there was another woman.

"You, as always," he replied with a halfhearted smile. The half hearted smile confused me. He has never given me halfhearted smiles.

He was always so joyous, like he didn't have a care in the world. But that wasn't the case tonight. Something was definitely on his mind.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, setting my plate down beside where I was sitting.

"I'll tell you when we get home," he replied. "I just have something on my mind at the moment. Don't worry."

"Don't worry? We've been together for four years, lived together for six months, and you tell me not to worry? I know when something's going on, Tidus," I said as I took his hands in mine. "Whatever it is, you can tell me." I braced myself mentally for the news of another girl.

"Trust me, I'll tell you at home baby. For now let's enjoy the night." he said with a caress to my cheek that sent shivers down my spine. I gave in.

"All right, but as soon as we get in, you're telling me what's been making you act different today." I said as I let go of his hand and tuned to pick up my plate. I offered him a rib, which he took from my hand with his mouth. "Hey, leave my fingers out of this!" I said playfully.

"Why? You taste better than those ribs any day," he responded with a genuine smile.

'_About time I see one of those,' _I thought. After I finished eating we waved goodbye to Wakka, Lulu, and Vidina. Lenne and her husband Shuyin, Tidus's company commander, must have already gone home, because I didn't see their car. Vidina and his mother came over, and I gave the two year old a hug.

"If you need any thing Yuna, you know my number," said the older woman as she looked at Tidus. I couldn't read her look because I was still giving Vidina his hug. I straightened up just as Lulu produced a spark of lightning in her hand. I shook the thought of Lulu being the other woman away. '_She's like my sister, she's married, and she didn't care for Tidus when I first met him. There's no way _she _could be the other woman,' _I thought.

Tidus and I walked hand in hand back to the house, hardly speaking a word to each other as we walked up the steps to the back porch. Once inside, I locked the back door and followed Tidus to the living room. Then I rounded on him as he sat on the couch.

"Now, would you mind explaining to me _why_ in the name of Yevon you've been acting different today?" I crossed my arms across my chest, expecting to hear that our relationship was about to be over.

"You might want to sit down," he said as he gestured to a spot next to him on the sofa and leaned forward, clasping his hands together in front of him.

**Tidus' POV**

Yuna sat down next to me with a look of worry plastered on her pretty face. A face I knew full well that I may never get to see again. I looked around the house, realizing that it would be a year before I would see it again. _If_ I got to see it again. I took a long, heavy breath as I tried to find the words to cushion the blow.

"You remember what I told you before I enlisted right? About how I wanted to protect you and this world we live in. Well, I'm going to get that chance." I paused, waiting for her response.

She was dumbfounded. Whatever it was she was expecting to hear, that wasn't it. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

I took another deep breath and said, "Sweetheart, I'm getting deployed to Odaiba."

Yuna was in total shock. She had gone slightly pale, her breathing was becoming frantic, and her bi-colored eyes were wide and already welling up with tears.

"W-what…?" Her body began to shake, and I could see that her world had just come to a screeching halt. **(Editor's Note: This is going to sound mean, but she's probably reeeally wishing it was another woman right about now. I know I would be. You can bitch slap another woman, but not a country.)**

Yevon, it hurt to see her fall apart like this. She was always so composed, always in control of things, and here she was falling to pieces right in front of me. Tears started to run down her face as she started sobbing. In an effort to calm her, I wrapped her in my arms and held her close, letting her cry into my shoulder.

"W-when are you g-goi-ing to l-leave?" she cried, burying her face into my shoulder as I patted her head.

"About two weeks," I answered as she began wailing.

"I d-don't want you t-to go!" she managed to exclaim as she continued wailing, clinging onto me as if her very life itself depended on it. And maybe, to her, it did.

"I don't want to go either. But I swore that I would protect you somehow." She cried for a good twenty minutes and when the tears finally quit flowing, I helped her up the stairs to her bathroom so she could wash her face (her makeup got all messed up) and then into bed.

As she drifted off into an uneasy sleep, I stood in the doorway and watched her toss and turn. With a heavy sigh, I turned, walked to my room, and drifted off to sleep.

**Later that night… Yuna's POV**

It was late in the night. I had tossed and turned for Yevon knows how long after Tidus had helped me to my room. Then I had a terrible nightmare.

_**Yuna's Dream**_

_ I was in the kitchen washing a few dishes that I had dirtied in my grief. Tidus had been gone for a month. It was so different not having him here sitting at the table talking with me or sneaking up behind me while I'm trying to put icing on a cake. I sighed and said, "I hope you're ok honey. Please come home safely."_

_ Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Just a minute." I said as I dried my hands. I walked over to the door wondering who it could be. I opened the door only to find two men in official looking uniforms. _

"_Can I help you?" I asked as a wave of fear washed over me. _

_ The one on the left spoke. "Miss Higurashi, we regret to inform you that your loved one has just been pronounced dead in Odaiba." I covered my mouth with my hand as the tears started to fall. "On behalf of the Spira National Guard, we are truly sorry for your loss." He looked like he was sorry. They turned and walked back to an awaiting car as I stood there for a moment, crying. My world had just crashed in around me. _

_ I closed the door, walked over to the couch with tears streaming down my face, sat down and picked up the picture from the homecoming dance we shared in high school. I sat with it in my lap, looking down at it as tears dropped onto the picture frame. I reached up to Tidus in the picture and stroked it. "I wish you never would have joined, that way we could spend the rest of our lives together." I shut my eyes and held the picture close to my heart._

"_Yuna," said a voice that sounded like Tidus. I looked around and saw a ghostly form of him._

"_T-Tidus?" I asked. "Is that… really you?" _

"_Don't cry, we'll be together again," he whispered as he turned and walked away._

"_Where are you going?" I cried._

"_The Farplane. I don't want to be an Unsent. I'll be able to see you when you come visit me." Tidus kept walking away from me._

"_No, don't go!" I yelled. "Tidus, please come back!"_

**Tidus' POV**

"Tidus!"

I awoke with a start and knew instantly that Yuna must have had a nightmare. I got up and made a dash for her room, slowing my jog to a walk as I got to her doorway. She was sitting straight up in bed, her hair matted from sweat, her breathing ragged, shaking uncontrollably. I walked over to her bed and sat down, only for her to throw her arms around me, and I noticed that she had been crying, and still was. I held her in my arms, wishing I could take the pain away. '_You could have prevented this if you hadn't enlisted,' _I thought to myself. '_But I swore I would protect her any way possible, even if it means giving my life for her.'_

"Everything's gonna be ok. I'm here, Yuna." I tried to comfort her.

"B-but you w-won't be in two w-weeks," she sobbed as she looked at me through tear-stained eyes.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "Whether we're a room apart or a world away," I placed my hand over her heart and finished, "I'll always be right here."

**Yuna's POV**

We talked for a few more minutes before Tidus said he was going back to bed. He looked like he was about to fall asleep. I was about to offer to let him sleep in my bed when he got up and shuffled sleepily to his room. I wish I had spoke up sooner, I wanted to feel that he was here until he had to leave. These two weeks might be all that we have left together. I couldn't help thinking that. The man that I have given myself to and was prepared to spend my life with, might not be around to do that. Since Tidus had gone to bed, and I still needed someone to talk to, I grabbed my cell and called my cousin, Rikku. After ringing a few times she finally picked up.

"_Hello?"_ she asked sleepily. I don't know why I expected her to be up at 3:15 in the morning, but it was a little late to regret it.

"Rikku, it's me," I said as I put my hand on my forehead, which was still damp.

"_What's wrong, Yunie?" _she questioned, still half asleep.

"It's Tidus."

"_Oh, Yevon, what did he do!"_ she almost yelled. Rikku was obviously awake now.

"He enlisted in the National Guard and he's getting deployed," I responded distastefully as tears started to fall again. Yevon, when will I stop crying?

"_He's doing what! When?"_ she shouted. I could swear I heard her all the way from Bikanel Island. She moved out there about seven months ago when she married Gippal, chief of the Machine Faction, an Al Bhed company that makes military equipment.

"He has two weeks before he leaves for the war in Odaiba. After he gets there…" I paused momentarily as I tried to stifle my sobs. "… I won't see him for at least a year, if I ever see him alive again."

"_Hey, c'mon now Yunie. Don't think like that. Tidus has a good head on his shoulders and I'm sure he'll be just fine. All you have to do is believe it,"_ replied Rikku.

She was right. I remembered that Tidus told me once that if he ever deployed, he would be stuck on base away from all the action. It was pointless acting like I was, but hey, what's a girl to do? You don't think I'd be able to take the news with a smile on my face and be happy he's getting deployed, do you? I love Tidus more than life itself, and I want to spend the rest of my days with him. So, naturally, I'm gonna worry quite a lot.

"_Don't worry about it so much, it's bad for your health. He'll be fine Yunie. I'm sure of it."_

"Thanks Rikku, you're the greatest."

"_I know. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed. I'll talk to you later, Yunie."_

"Ok, bye," I said as she hung up. I closed my cell phone and lay back down, mulling over the conversation I just had with my cousin. '_Rikku's right, Tidus will probably be ok,' _I thought as I wiped my face. '_I know I'll see him alive again.'_

**During Rikku and Yuna's conversation. Tidus' POV**

I lay awake listening to Yuna's conversation. I had no idea she was so scared of me not coming home. I mean, I didn't expect her to be glad I was getting deployed. To be honest, it kind of scared me. The woman I loved with all my soul, was scared.

'_Have I not been doing my job protecting her and keeping her fears at bay?' _I wondered. Then I heard something, or at least thought I did, that sounded familiar.

"_You're doing fine, son. Yuna will worry, that's how women are. Your mother worried about me. Just don't let her down."_

Hearing those words seemed to help. '_I wonder if I should tell Yuna about being sent to Camp Talon.'_ Then I envisioned Yuna breaking down again because I was sent to the heat of the war zone. I decided against it, to avoid worrying her more. '_She's worried enough.'_ With a yawn, I rolled over and fell asleep.

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Ok, what did you think? Don't forget to leave your review. also i need some help. i need a name for Yuna's mother that sounds Al Bhed, but hasn't been used. just leave it in you review or send me an email. the link is in my profile. Thanx for reading!


	3. An Unexpected Visit

Chapter 3: An Unexpected Visit

**Yuna's POV**

I awoke at around 9:45 in the morning after that horrible dream. I got out of bed and walked to my fiancé's room and stopped in the doorway, watching him sleep. He looked so peaceful, and I thought it selfish of me to wake him just so I could spend time with him before he left. But then again, I always get what I want, even with Tidus. That's why he moved in with me six months ago, after his parents met an untimely end. All Tidus had at that time was his car and the clothes in his closet. Jecht and his wife never owned their house. He had nowhere to go, and I wanted to be near him.

I walked in and kissed him on the forehead, causing him to wake. His eyes fluttered open and a smile crossed his face. I smiled back.

"Good morning, beautiful. How was your night?" he asked.

"Like hell. I had a nightmare about you in Odaiba," I said as my smile fell. I vividly remembered the dream, which was still fresh in my memory.

He straightened up in his bed and slid over, offering me a place to sit. I sat down as he asked, "You remember what I said about getting deployed, right? My unit will be on base because we are Headquarters Company for the 3rd Battalion. I won't see any combat. Therefore I will come home alive and well."

It was a little refreshing to hear that from him. Still, I was worried sick. I threw my arms around him and whispered, "Just promise me you'll take care of yourself."

"I swear to Yevon that I will," he replied as he embraced me.

I let go of him and stood up. "I'm getting kind of hungry. How about some breakfast, sweetheart?"

"That would be nice. After we're done, how about we go see your parents? They might like to know I'm getting deployed."

"All right. I haven't seen Daddy in a while," I said as I walked towards the door. Once outside I heard the shower running in Tidus' bathroom. 'You had better take care of yourself. We're supposed to get married later this year,' I thought as I walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

Tidus came down the stairs about fifteen minutes later, just as I was finishing making breakfast. I didn't know he was in the kitchen until he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed the side of my neck. I closed my eyes and reached my hand up, placing it on his cheek. I love it when we cuddle like this. We broke apart, and he set two plates on the table as I removed the skillet from the stove.

"I'm starving," Tidus said as he poured us each a cup of coffee. His was black, nothing but coffee, whereas mine had a little creamer and sugar in it. "I don't know why you need sugar in this," he commented as he set my coffee cup next to my plate.

"How do you figure?" I asked as I stirred the eggs one last time. I had an idea what he was talking about. He always used cheesy lines around me. Hey, cheesy works.

"Well, think about it. You're sweet enough so you should be able to just stick your finger in it until it's ready," he replied with a smile, as if he didn't have a care in the world. I was going to miss that smile.

"Whenever you're done sucking up, breakfast is ready," I answered with a smile as I set the skillet on a potholder. Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs with grilled fish and peppers that I had grown in the garden on the side of the house.

After we ate, I ran upstairs to change clothes as Tidus went to put the top down on my convertible BMW. I wore my usual Gunner dresssphere and headed back down the stairs. Tidus was waiting for me in by the door. I took his hand and we walked to my car. He, of course, was driving. He opened the door for me and closed it after I slid in on the leather seats. It may be the last time we drove anywhere together.

**Tidus' POV**

We drove down the road in silence as I tried to find a subject to talk about without upsetting Yuna.

"I've been thinking about getting a new engine for the Camaro. I saw this new motor in Chevy Power Magazine that offers better fuel economy and more horsepower."

"How are you going to pay for that?" asked Yuna. She was right. I didn't have a job other than working at the unit part-time.

"I was thinking about getting a full-time job next year after…" I stopped short when I saw her grimace at what I had nearly said. I was going to say 'after I got back from Odaiba.' I needed to change the subject fast. "Uh, sure is nice out today. It's a good day to go for a drive," I said as the wind blew through Yuna's hair. She looked like she was about to cry.

After a few moments of silence, Yuna demanded, "Why did you enlist? We could have made it without you doing this. Daddy has money!You don't have to go." She was looking at me with a pained expression on her beautiful face. I couldn't read her eyes as she had on her 150 gil Valefor sunglasses, but I assumed she had tears in her eyes.

I sighed as I propped my arm on the window sill. "Because," I said, "This country has given me so much. A place to live without fear, a way to pay for school after Mom and Dad died, free speech, and more. That's something I want to defend." I refrained from saying 'even if it means giving my life.' That would make her hysterical.

"There's a war going on, Tidus. I don't want to lose you," she whispered as a tear ran down her cheek. I wanted to reach over and wipe it away, but I was driving and the road was quite curvy. I did at least glance at her though.

"You will never lose me. I'll be on base, and I know how to take care of myself. Don't worry so much," I answered, glancing between her and the road. If I did everything like I was trained to do in a combat situation, I would be fine.

When we reached the western side of Bevelle, we turned down a dead end street and entered a gated driveway. The driveway wound up the hill to a large, mansion type house. I parked Yuna's BMW next to her father's limousine. Since it was sunny, I decided to leave the top open. I switched the car off, opened Yuna's door, and grabbed her hand as we walked up to the front door.

**11:34 at Bevelle Manor Yuna's POV **

Thinking back, I probably should have called Daddy before we left Besaid, but it was a little late to do so now. I wasn't ready to face the fact that Tidus was deploying, and wished it was all a bad dream that I was going to wake up from any minute. I knocked on the door and Tidus let go of my hand. Daddy opened the door and for a moment was surprised at seeing me stand there with tearstains on my cheeks from crying in the car. The fact that I had on my Valefor sunglasses didn't hide the fact that I was hurting inside.

"Hey sweetie. How have you been?" asked Daddy as he stepped back, allowing Tidus and me to enter. "Your mother is in the living room. Go make yourselves comfortable." He turned and hollered, "Cemahla, we have company!"

"Who is it, honey?" came Mom's voice from the living room.

"The kids," my father replied as he shut the front door.

"Daddy, I'm twenty years old. I'm not a kid anymore." It always annoyed me when he said that.

"True, but you'll always be a kid in my book," he replied.

We walked into the living room and I gave Mom a hug before Tidus and I sat on the couch near her. Daddy walked over to the mega-screen TV and shut it off. The thing was, like, over a hundred inches wide and had stellar picture and sound. Of course, he could afford it, being the High Summoner and second most powerful man in all of Spira.

He turned and said, "So what brings you here? You usually call before coming over." My shoulders began to shake as Mom looked at me. "Is… something wrong?" Daddy questioned as I broke down.

**Tidus' POV**

Braska threw me a death glare as Yuna's mother tried to comfort her. He stood up and started walking towards me with a look that was somewhere between '_what have you done to my daughter_' and '_I'm going to rip your face off._' I took a breath.

"I'm getting deployed," I said, looking at Braska. He stopped about halfway between his chair and where I was sitting. His look went from pure malice to dumbfounded.

"Say that again," he requested, standing about six feet from me. Yuna was sobbing, clinging onto her mom. Her mom just looked at me.

"I'm getting deployed to Odaiba," I repeated disdainfully.

"When?" Cemahla asked as Braska crossed his arms, thinking.

"In two weeks we're heading up to Fort Mi'ihen for last minute things and we're leaving the next day," I said. Braska cursed under his breath. In the four years I had known him, I have never seen him curse.Out loud or otherwise.

"Do you know where yet?" he asked.

"Camp Talon," I responded. Yuna began crying harder at those words. She knew that Camp Talon was near an insurgent hotspot. It used to be the capitol before the government fell.

"Any chance you'll have to leave the base?" Braska inquired.

"Slim to none. We're HQ for the 3rd Battalion and support for the 135th TAB. The only way I'd leave base is if the whole unit had to leave," I responded, leaning forward.

I could hear Cemahla comforting my fiancée the way only a mother could. I could also hear sobs and soft shushes coming from my right. Thinking back, maybe I shouldn't have enlisted, but I was two years into a six year, eight month contract and seriously thinking about getting twenty years out of it. So, it was a little late to think second thoughts.

"I can use my influences to help keep the unit out of harm's way," Braska offered. I knew he was offering not just for my sake, but for Yuna's as well. He knew she was worried about me. Braska and Cemahla unofficially took me into their family when I started dating Yuna during our Junior year.

Hearing her father's offer to keep the unit out of harm's way, Yuna looked up at me, hoping I'd say yes. All I said was, "I'll have to confer with the battalion. That's out of my hands."

"Isn't there anything you can do, Daddy?" asked Yuna, standing up and looking at her father with tears streaming down her face.

Braska shook his head. "Not on such short notice, sweetie. If I had had at least three weeks, I might have been able to do everything required. Talk to President Mika, the generals, and process the paperwork."

"Isn't there a fast track? He's g-getting deployed in two w-weeks to an insurgent hotspot. Who gives a d-damn if he won't leave base? He could still _d-die_, Daddy. Or do you not even care!?" she screamed at her father, the hurt crystal clear on her usually beautiful face.

I stood, walked over to Yuna and wrapped my arms around her as she broke down for the second time today. She turned and clung to me, sobbing into my chest as I tried to reassure her. I kept telling her that everything would be ok, and that I'd get home alive and well.

I looked at Braska and apologized. "Braska, I'm really sorry about her outburst. She's been like this since last night when I broke the news to her."

Cemahla smiled softly and said, "Don't worry about it, dear. Yuna's always followed her heart and I'm sure she's just upset that you're going to be so far away. Usually she knows what to do, but right now she's at a loss. Just be sure to contact her regularly and let her know that you're ok. Braska can get information on everything over there, so I'll just find out from him."

Braska nodded his agreement. "Still, give us a call every so often, son. Yevon only knows if what goes on over there is the same as what I'm told," the High Summoner said. "And take care of yourself."

"Will do, Braska," I answered as Yuna continued crying. I helped her walk out to the car and shut the door to the blue BMW after she got in. I walked around to the driver's side and sat down, started the car, pulled out of the driveway and silently pointed the car towards home.

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ok guys, hope you enjoyed what you just read. by the way, i dont remember what TAB stands for, i'll have to ask my sergeant whan i head in to the unit in the morning.

Thanks For Reading!

July 22 2008 author's noote: TAB stands for Theater Air Battalion. Dont ask what that means.

July 28, 2008: Due to a back injury, chapter 4 will be up later than i wanted. the madication i'm on makes me really tired, and i am back to work at my civillian job. so, the time i actually have to write is not much. I promise, i will have chapter 4 up sometime soon, so keep those hits and reviews comming.

Again, Thanks for reading!


	4. Time is Growing Short

**Ok guys, here's the much- anticipated Chapter 4! it took me a while to write due to the fact i have a lot of stuff going on at home right now (probably not as much as Tidus and Yuna though) anyways, on with the chappie!**Chapter 4: Time is Growing Short

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**Yuna's POV**

I couldn't believe that I screamed at my father like I did. The last time I ever screamed at him was when I was eight years old. I don't really remember why. I guess it wasn't all that important.

I knew that Daddy cared about Tidus, but I was frustrated at the lack of options. This next year was gong to be harder than when Tidus went to Basic Combat Training. Even his Advanced Individual Training was only twelve weeks. He was gone for BCT and AIT for a total of twenty one weeks, not a whole year. Then a year ago he left for Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, and was only gone for a month. This next year… A whole year without him?

"Isn't there some way you can get out of going?" I asked wearily as we drove down the long road, staring out at the cool grey sky.

"I know how you feel, but our country has called on me. And I can't get out of deployment until my contract is about up. I still have four years to complete," he replied.

'_How can you __**possibly **__know how I feel? __**You're**__ not the one worried sick about your fiancé getting sent to war and coming home in a __**body bag**__!' _I thought bitterly.

Those thoughts actually surprised me. I have never thought bitterly towards Tidus. _'It must be the stress. I haven't started acting like this until he found out he was deploying,' _I reasoned with myself. That _had _to be the cause.

I was scared to death that he wouldn't come home alive. I had heard all the stories on the news, soldiers getting killed in ambushes, vehicles destroyed by roadside bombs, and even a couple of aircraft being shot down. It was enough to make any girl worry. I wondered how Lenne was able to deal with the grief; it was probably because she and Shuyin have been married since they graduated from Zanarkand High and he enlisted at the end of his senior year.

"I swore to you that I would take care of myself. You can take that to the bank. I promise to contact you as often as I can. Just so you don't have to worry so much," he continued, glancing at me with a soft smile as he took one of my hands in his. "I swear to you, I _will _come home alive and well." Tidus brought my hand up to his lips and placed a tender kiss on it.

I had finished all my crying, but my heart still felt broken. I hated war. All it did was tear families and lovers apart all for the sake of settling political differences.

"Don't become a liar, Tidus," I said. "You had better do everything you said. Without you, it'd be hard to go on." I looked at my fiancé, secretly praying that Yevon would look over him.

**Tidus' POV**

After we arrived home, I went upstairs to check for messages on my cell phone. I had one from Chris and one from Shuyin. Chris was reminding me that he, Shuyin, Yaibal, Beclem and Gippal (who was in town on business) were going to meet at the local bar, The Seventh Heaven. They had good drinks, mostly beer and hard liquor, but no wine. Yuna never went with me because she doesn't like beer.

Shuyin was telling me that there were some forms on my desk that needed to be taken care of before we left. We also needed to get an inventory within 48 hours of shipment. Therefore, I would have to go in to work early one day soon.

"Hey, baby?" I called as I descended the stairs, headed into the living room.

"Yeah?" asked Yuna, who was sitting on the couch.

"The guys are meeting later tonight at The Seventh Heaven. If you don't mind, I'm going to hang out with them for a while," I said, stopping in front of her.

"Ok, just don't be gone too long. I'd like to spend time with you before you leave." she responded, looking up at me. She understood that a guy needs to spend time with his buddies as well as his girl. I, too, understood that a girl needs to go out with her girlfriends once in a while. Sometimes I had to insist that she spend time out of the house.

"I'll be heading over there at about six thirty, so, I should be home around nine tonight," I said as I headed into the kitchen for a soda.

"Just call me if you need a ride," Yuna said from the living room.

"I will" was my reply as I opened a can of Coke. I headed into the living room and sat down next to Yuna. "What's on?" I asked.

"Nothing really. There is a program on HGTV that I want to catch," she answered, not looking away from the TV.

I chuckled. "You and your Home and Garden programs. Don't you ever get enough?"

"No, but it's better than your shows about cars."

"Hey, some of them have useful tips on restoring cars and fixing problems yourself! Totally saves money so you don't have to take it into a shop!" I retorted playfully.

"Well, some of the shows on HGTV have tips on redecorating your house. So you don't have to hire a contractor. So, there." she replied, looking at me and sticking her tongue out at me.

"You _do _know what sticking your tongue out at someone means, right?" I asked, smirking slightly.

"No, what?" she asked.

"Kiss me quick," I said as I leaned in. Our lips met and Yuna wrapped her arms around me.

After we broke the kiss, she whispered, "Please come home safe. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." I felt a tear escape her eye as it ran down my cheek.

'_I wonder why she's been so emotional these past two days,' _I thought._ 'It's probably the stress from worrying so much about me.' _I remembered how she reacted when I left for BCT, AIT, and BNOC. She was upset, for the most part, for she knew that upon completion of my training, I would be deployable.

But I had made a promise to Yuna that I would come home safe. It was a promise I meant to keep.

**Later that evening… Yuna's POV**

Tidus was walking down the stairs when I was heading into the kitchen. "You getting a drink baby?" he asked as he reached the landing.

"Yeah. I was thinking about getting some ice cream too," I replied from in front of the refrigerator. For some reason, I had taken a liking to butter pecan ice cream with a glass of Merlot wine. Usually, I had a glass of wine after dinner, but for the past few days I had a bowl of ice cream as well.

"If you eat too much ice cream, you'll get fat," he joked.

"No, I won't. I work out three times a week," I responded haughtily. "When was the last time _you _worked out?"

"I went for a run just the other day," Tidus said, leaning up against the doorjamb.

"So _that's _why the shower was running at six thirty in the morning," I laughed. "You know, you ruined a good dream I was having."

"What dream could _possibly _be better than living with me?" he asked with a cocky grin.

"Living with you as my husband," was my reply as I turned to look at his boyish face. I wanted so desperately for that to happen.

"Good point, love." Suddenly, I heard a car honk from the driveway. "That must be Chris. He said he was going to pick me up," said Tidus as he headed for the door. "I'll see you at about nine," he added as the door closed behind him.

I headed back into the living room with my bowl of butter pecan ice cream in hand. Mmmm, butter pecan. No sooner than I sat down, my cell phone rang. I knew it was Rikku because the custom ring tone I had, "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson, started to play.

I flipped open the phone and said, "Hey Rik, what's up?"

"_Hey Yunie. What are you doing right now?" _she asked.

"Eating ice cream and sipping on a glass of wine while watching TV. Why?"

"'_Cause I'm walking up your front walk. I thought I should spend some time with my favorite cousin!"_ she responded happily. I looked at the door as her shadow fell on the window.

"I'm your only cousin. But go ahead and come on in," I said. I flipped the phone shut as Rikku walked in. "So, what brings you to Besaid?" I asked as my younger cousin flopped down on the sofa next to me.

"Oh, Gippy had to come into town for a couple of meetings with a prospective client, and I figured I should stop by since he's going to the bar tonight with Tidus and the guys," replied the bubbly blonde.

"How long are you going to be here?" I asked, before taking a sip of wine.

"We're heading back to Bikanel on Thursday," she replied with a sigh. "How are you doing since you found out about him deploying?"

"It's been hell. I've broken down multiple times, thought Tidus was cheating on me; but that was before I found out he was deploying; I even screamed at Daddy earlier today," I murmured as I looked at the floor, smiling sadly, willing myself not to cry again. "I'm so afraid he won't come home to me."

"He will, Yunie. He's a good soldier, he went to all that training for the National Guard and knows what to do." my cousin replied, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

**At the Seventh Heaven… Tidus' POV**

Me and the guys were sitting at our usual table in the far corner, swapping jokes like we didn't have a care in the world. Yaibal, Beclem, and Gippal all knew that me, Chris, and Shuyin were leaving in just under two weeks.

We all knew that every bad joke that one of us told might be our last. Because of that, we laughed like Spira wasn't at war, and said things to each other we've never said before.

Suddenly, Chris teared up and he held his glass aloft. He said, "Boys, if I don't make it back, have a beer for me; don't waste no tears on me. On Friday nights, sit on the visitors' side and cheer for the home team. Drive my Camaro ninety miles an hour down Red Rock Road with "Born to Run" blasting on the radio, and find someone good enough for Amy who will love her like I would have. If I don't make it back."

"Hey man that ain't gonna happen," I protested as I raised my glass too.

"Yeah, man. Don't even think like that," added Yaibal, following suit.

"If we know you like I think we do, you'll pull through without a scratch. You _are_ under Tidus, one of the best soldiers in my company," said Shuyin as he, too, raised his glass.

"Besides, you will be using the equipment I have worked so hard on to keep you soldiers safe. You guys have brand new armor that can stop a fifty caliber bullet, new weapons that are a breeze to clean, even enhanced radios with channels that no one can hack," boasted Gippal.

"You gonna raise your glass too, Gip?" I asked with a smirk as Beclem raised his.

"What? Oh, yeah." responded Gippal with a goofy grin as he, finally, raised his glass. We downed the rest of our beer and Gippal ordered a round of Jose Quervo, which was served by the bartender, a busty brunette woman. I knew we would all be wasted by the time nine o' clock rolled around, but it felt good to hang out with the guys before we left.

When nine o' clock rolled around, Gippal asked the bartender to call in a couple of taxi cabs for Yaibal, Beclem, and himself. Shuyin had left half an hour earlier, and Chris had sobered up by then. He quit drinking at somewhere around seven thirty. I, however, was buzzed. I wasn't really drunk; I could still walk. However, I knew that I was too far gone to attempt driving.

As we were walking out to Chris' Camaro, he pulled me aside while Gippal and the others headed for their awaiting cabs. "Hey, T, you remember what I told you at the unit, right?"

"Oh, about you and Amy getting married? Yeah," I managed to say as I stumbled a little. My head felt like it was spinning slightly.

"Yeah. You're gonna be my best man," he told me as he helped me walk to his car. "I wanted you to know that, just in case I don't make it back."

"Stop talking like that." I paused and belched. "You'll be fine. I'll make sure you're ok." I said as I sat down on the passenger side.

We drove home and Chris hollered for Yuna to help me out of the car. Yuna came out with Rikku hot on her heels. I briefly wondered when Rikku had even come over, but then decided I didn't care. My fiancé didn't look too pleased at the fact that I was wasted.

**Yuna's POV**

"Hey Rik. Whatcha up to?" asked Tidus as he tried to step out of the car. He was so drunk that he could barely stand, and he fell on me.

"Yevon, Tidus, how much did you drink?" I asked as I tried to steady him.

"Apparently not enough, Yunie. He can still stand," replied Rikku with a smirk. I glared at my cousin.

"Just help me get him upstairs!" I replied with a huff to her. "Thanks for bringing him home, Chris."

"Anytime, Lady Yuna," said Chris as he started his car, backed out of the driveway, and drove off into the night.

"Now, you are going to bed," I told Tidus as I helped him into the house.

"Yours, right?" he asked as Rikku put his free arm around her shoulders.

After we helped him into my bed, Rikku and I headed back downstairs. Gippal had arrived and after we talked for a few minutes the two of them left. I headed up the stairs to my room where Tidus lay, possibly sleeping.

"How much did you have to drink, sweetheart?" I asked as I stopped in front of the mirror and removed my earrings.

"Uh, six Budweiser's, twelve shots of Jose Quervo and three Malibu's with Coke," he replied sleepily. At least he wasn't a belligerent drunk. I highly doubt I would stay with him if he was.

"At least you didn't drive yourself home. I'd kill you if you did," I said as I changed into my nightgown. All he had on was a pair of running shorts and looked like he was asleep.

I smiled. I had finally gotten my way after finding out he was deploying. Finally, I got to feel him near me for another night. I had him sleep in my bed with me on several occasions, but this time was different. This could very well possibly be the last time I get to feel his presence in the same bed as me again. Hell, this could be the last time we were this close to being married. I yawned, crawled into bed next to my sleeping fiancé, and drifted off to sleep with my arm over his muscular chest.

**Three Days before Tidus Deploys… Tidus' POV**

My fiancée wasn't doing too well. She had several sleepless nights, having woken up screaming my name on multiple occasions. The nightmare she had when she first got the news I was deploying was possibly reoccurring. She woke up early one day as I was getting ready to head up to Luca to the unit and, upon seeing me in my ACU's, immediately burst into tears. I was about thirty minutes late as I had tried to console her.

Today was no different. I was going over my packing list, making sure I had all of my issued equipment.

"Ok, Kevlar, check. Bulletproof flack jacket with plates, check. Night vision goggles, check. Load Bearing Vest, check. Gas mask and chem-suit, check. Gore Tex, check. Am I missing anything?" I asked myself as I read off each item on the list. I looked up when I heard Yuna's footsteps stop outside my door. She was leaning in the doorway looking at me with a pained expression on her face. She just sighed, turned, and walked towards her room at the end of the hall.

I set my list down beside where I was sitting and followed Yuna towards her room. When I walked in I saw her standing in front of her dresser, looking at several pictures we had taken over the past four years. I could see her reflection in the mirror, and she was crying. Tears were running down her cheeks and falling on a picture she had in her hands.

When she spotted me standing in the doorway, she straightened slightly and, as she set the picture down, asked, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." I replied as I walked in. I wished I could take all the pain away. I could see how these days had been affecting her. I noticed that the picture she had been holding was the picture Rikku had taken just after the homecoming king and queen's dance when Yuna and I had been locked in a deep kiss.

I started to wrap my arms around her, but she spun around, clinging onto me viciously, shaking visibly as she cried.

"I wish you n-never w-would have enl-listed," she sobbed.

"I know, but it's for our future," I responded softly.

"What kind of future could I possibly have if you're not here to share it with me?" she demanded, taking a step back.

"Sweetheart, I know you're stressed about me leaving-" I started to say. I wasn't prepared for what came next.

"_Stressed_? I'm _beyond _stressed. I'm worried sick. I keep having the same nightmare almost every night! I break down frequently, and I can't even walk by your room without crying. Hell, I can barely even eat!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

I stood there with widened eyes. I couldn't believe she just yelled at me. Never, in our four years of being together, has she ever yelled. She's gotten agitated, argumentative, even given me the 'silent treatment'. Yelling was new.

"Yuna, calm down. I told you, I will come home safe and sound," I murmured as I gently placed my hands on my fiancée's shoulders. I pulled her towards me, and kept trying to reassure her.

"I'm so sorry," she cried into my chest. She looked up at me with tear filled eyes and continued, "I didn't mean to yell at you. I- I don't know what's come over me lately. I guess I'm just…" she paused for a moment as tears fell down her pretty face. "I'm just afraid that you won't come home," she finished as she wiped her eyes.

"I'll be home, I promise." I said as I held her tight.

"I wish you'd have never enlisted." she whispered so softly I almost didn't hear her.

"I know, sweetheart," I said as I placed a kiss on her forehead.

We stood there for a few minutes until Yuna said, "I'm going to get a glass of wine, do you want a beer?"

"Sure," I replied as she headed for the staircase. I followed Yuna to the kitchen and stood in the doorway until she came back from the pantry with a glass of wine and an ice cold Budweiser.

"Here you go baby," she said as she held the bottle out towards me. We headed to the living room and sat down on the couch. Yuna took a sip of wine and said, "You know, this next year is going to be different."

"What do you mean, baby?" I asked, setting my beer down.

"Well, you won't be here for one thing. I won't be able to see your face in the morning; we'll have to put the wedding off until you return, we haven't even made plans yet." Yuna looked at me with a pained expression. "I'm really going to miss you," she whispered as tears sparkled in her beautiful bi-colored eyes once more.

"I know sweetheart, I'll miss you too. But like I said last week, whether we're a room apart or a world away…"

"You'll always be in my heart," she finished.

"And you'll be in mine."

"Just be careful, Tidus," she said. The rest of the evening went without incident.

**July 23, 2006… Yuna's POV**

I awoke that morning already knowing and dreading what day it was. The day Tidus left for Odaiba. I prayed to Yevon that it was all just some terrible nightmare, but it was in vain. I knew that this was real; I knew that I was awake and that this could very well possibly be the last time I would ever see Tidus alive again. I wanted to just roll over, go back to sleep, and wake up in his arms.

I saw him walk from his room towards the staircase with a duffel bag in his hands. I threw the covers off of me and got out of bed. After he had gone downstairs I peeked into his room. He still had a couple of bags to grab before he had to be at the unit at 11:30. The clock on his nightstand read 7:03 AM.

"What are you doing, baby?" came Tidus' voice from behind me. That scared the shit out of me. I gasped as my heart leapt into my throat, spinning around to look at him. He was so silent when he came back up the stairs that I hadn't heard him.

"I- I was just…" I stammered. What was I doing?

"Checking to see how many bags I had to put in the car?" he asked, a calm smile on his handsome face. Yevon, I was going to miss that look.

My gaze dropped to the floor. For lack of a better term, I was caught red handed. I looked back up at my fiancé, tears welling up in my eyes, and whispered, "I don't want you to go."

He laid a reassuring hand on my cheek and smiled sadly. I closed my eyes, reached up and held his hand there with mine as the tears started to flow. My heart was breaking. It was like I could actually feel small pieces of it flake off, shattering against the bottom of my chest. I opened my eyes as he leaned in and placed a tender kiss on my lips.

"I need to finish putting my bags in the car," he said quietly, as if he didn't want to go. His beautiful cerulean eyes were filled with grief. This next year would be hard for him too. I never stopped to wonder if maybe he was hurting as well.

"Do you want something to eat before you leave?" I asked, trying to prevent him from leaving earlier than he absolutely had to.

"As long as it's quick," he answered as he glanced at his watch.

"How about some pancakes?" I asked.

"Sure, they're quick enough."

"Is apple cinnamon okay? I know it's your favorite," I said as I started towards the kitchen.

He chuckled. "What would I do without you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I inquired as I poured him a cup of coffee and set it before him on the kitchen table.

"You gave me a place to live after Mom and Dad were killed in that plane crash; you stuck with me all through high school, especially during the rumors that Leblanc and Donna were spreading, and you've helped me financially without me even asking. Making sure you're able to sleep safely at night is the least I can do to repay you," he said as I started making the pancakes.

"Tidus, I love you. You don't have to repay me. That's what people do when they're in love, they support each other," I responded as I poured the batter onto the skillet.

"But I haven't really helped you," he said as I flipped the pancakes.

"Yes, you have. You've been there when I needed you. You've helped me understand that life isn't something to take for granted; especially after your Mom and Dad died; and, even though I'm sort of against it, you've even volunteered to defend this country. With Daddy as a politician, you know how I feel about war. I hate it; I wish we never would have gotten involved with the crisis in Odaiba. Ever since you enlisted, I've been worried sick that this day would come," I said as the pancakes finished cooking. I put three on one plate and took it over to Tidus before walking over to the pantry for the maple syrup. When I got back, Tidus was already digging in. I was gone maybe thirty seconds.

"You might want to slow down or you'll choke," I said with a smile.

"Why? I won't be able to taste your cooking for at least a year," he replied as I poured maple syrup onto my pancake.

Once Tidus had finished breakfast, he headed back upstairs to grab the rest of his bags. I prayed that he would take his time, for I knew that once went out the front door, it would be a year before I saw him again.

Upon returning from his room and depositing the first two bags in the back of his Camaro, he came back in for a couple of minutes. I knew what came next.

_Goodbye._

"Do you have to go?" I whispered as tears ran down my cheeks.

Tidus sighed heavily, looked at the floor for a moment and said, "Wait for me. I'll write you letters." He looked up at me, his cerulean eyes so full of love and sadness like none I had ever seen before.

My heart was shattering again; it felt worse than when I first woke up this morning. My body was beginning to ache as I cried harder.

"P-please don't g-go." I begged. All Tidus did was wrap his arms around me.

"I have to." He said after a moment.

A few minutes later he said the words I didn't want to hear. He said "Sweetheart, I need to go."

He let go of me and turned towards the door. When he started walking I felt the most excruciating pain I'd ever felt in my life, causing me to sink to the floor.

He stopped in the door and said, "Save your tears, 'cause I'll come back." He smiled a reassuring smile that didn't reassure me at all.

"_I love you, Yuna."_

And then he was gone.

Remember when I said it felt like my heart was breaking? Forget I even said that. My heart wasn't broken; it was ripped from my chest when he walked out the door. I didn't even say goodbye. I just sat there staring at the front door.

**Tidus' POV**

Yevon, it tore me up to see Yuna get like that. The last few minutes played back as I got in my Camaro and drove down the road. In a way, I kind of expected it. Yuna's actions, I mean. Her yelling had taken me by surprise, but begging me not to go was nothing new. She had begged me not to enlist two years ago.

My heart was heavy as I drove down the road, even my favorite cd wasn't helping. So I turned to the only thing that could offer me solace in times like these; a prayer to Yevon.

I was a believer in the Yevonite faith, but I didn't really practice it except when I was emotionally strained. The ritual was hard to do when I was driving, as there was a lot of arm movements involved. So I just said it aloud.

"Almighty Yevon," I began, "I ask that you look over Yuna and let her know peace and that I will be safe, even though we have never been apart for a year. Yevon, I also ask that you look over the soldiers in Odaiba and in my unit; let them know that your almighty hand will keep them safe and guide them back home. Amen"

Finally, I felt some peace as I made my way to the unit, but that didn't stop a lone tear from making its way down my cheek.


	5. Concerts and Suprises

**Hey guys, I'm back with another update. this is the rough cut copy of chapter 5, as I'm still waiting on the final copy to come back. i put a lot of thought and heart into this, so i hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Sara-chan: Aren't you going to do a disclaimer?**

**SGT Tidus: Yes, yes, of course. I dont own any thing in this story ecept for the last names, excluding Private First Class Chris Marrion's. the songs that appear belong to their respective artists and producers.**

**Enjoy!!!**

* * *

**One month after Tidus reaches Odaiba, Tidus' POV**

We had reached Odaiba safely, having flown in under the cover of darkness. I had figured we would be dropped off and the C-130 Galaxy airplane we were on would take off immediately. The units on the plane were all from the 135th Theater Air Battalion and included HHC, Alpha, Bravo, and Delta Companies. Alpha and Delta companies were here to do reconnaissance on the insurgents operating in the area. Bravo Company was here to provide support to HHC, Alpha and Delta. By population, Bravo was the largest company, with 262 soldiers. HHC, however, was the smallest with only 75 soldiers. Phone calls were prohibited for one month, unless anyone from the Lieutenant Colonel up to the General was trying to contact Bevelle. **(A/N: the ranks from Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) to General (GEN) are LTC, Colonel (COL), Brigadier General (BG) Major General (MG), Lieutenant General (LTG), and GEN.) **

On this day, one month after we had arrived in theater, I was sitting in my office going through some paperwork, listening to "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by the Blue Oyster Cult. I wasn't reading what I looked at; my mind had wandered to my grief-stricken fiancée, Yuna, who was in that big house all alone. I sent her a letter the day after we got here to Camp Talon, but I haven't heard back from her.

"Maybe she just got the letter a couple of week's ago." said Chris when I told him that I hadn't heard from Yuna yet. He had also said that he hadn't heard from Amy yet either. We both wanted to know how our fiancée's were doing, and the XBOX 360 Halo tournaments weren't helping with the stress.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I looked up from the paperwork and said, "Come in." Specialist Austin Williams (no relation) from the Communications (also known as Commo) Section walked in with a memo in his hand. "What can I do for you, Specialist Williams?" I asked as he closed the door.

"Just checking to see if the replacement radios for Delta's Second Platoon are in." he said as he sat down in one of the chairs across the desk from me. Delta Company had come in close contact with a group of insurgents while out on a recon mission. Luckily, the soldiers were all ok, but had lost a couple of radios to enemy fire. The radios had possibly saved the soldiers' lives that were carrying them.

"No, not yet. They should be here within the week." I responded. "Who is the memo for?" I asked, noticing the paper in his hand.

"You, as a matter of fact." he replied, handing the memo over. "Lieutenant Colonel Myler asked me to bring it to you, since I was already on my way over here."

"Ok, thanks." I said as I took the paper from him. "I'll call you when the radios come in."

"Roger that, Sarge." he said as he got up and moved to the door. I was about to toss it on my desk when I saw the subject line: Phone calls home are now authorized. It was signed by Shuyin. I sat there staring at the memo for a moment, making sure I didn't read it wrong. I set the memo down, picked up the phone and dialed Yuna's number.

**Yuna's POV**

All month long I had been expecting the reoccurring nightmare to come true. Every time someone knocked on the door my heart sank and I had to fight back tears. I was just getting ready for another sleepless, nightmarish night, when the telephone rang. The caller I.D. said DOD, short for Department of Defense. Fearing the worst, I let it ring twice before answering.

"H-hello?" I asked, my voice quivering from the tears threatening to fall.

_"Hey baby." _came the voice of the man I loved so much.

"Tidus! Oh my Yevon, how are you?" I asked, my worry quickly giving way to joy.

_"Just fine. Specialist Williams from Commo just brought me a memo saying phone calls were authorized, so I figured I'd better call before Braska has my head on a platter." _he joked. _"So what have you been up to?"_

"Just trying to get through each day without breaking down or waking up in the middle of the night screaming your name. At least Paine has been over frequently to see how I'm doing."

_"What about Rikku?" _he asked. That man could be so clueless sometimes.

"She lives in Bikanel with her husband." I replied, smiling.

_"Oh, right. I knew that."_

"Mm-hmm. Sure you did." I retorted playfully. Yevon, it was so nice to hear from him again. "Oh, there's a concert for the troops this weekend in Luca."

_"Cool. Any chance the Gullwings will be on stage?"_

"Of course, plus Lenne is going to do a song or two with us." I said as I placed the phone on my shoulder so I could remove my earrings. "Baralai said it will be televised especially for the troops overseas."

_"Great, I get to see your beautiful face again."_

Then I heard voices in the background and Tidus cursing.

_"I gotta go baby, a group of insurgents just tried to storm the gate. I love you."_

"Be careful Tidus, I love you too." I said. Just before he hung up, I heard him holler at Chris to grab their M16s. I prayed that everyone was ok over there.

Worry had crept back in, so I opened my cell and dialed the first number I could think of; Lenne.

_"Hello?" _asked the perky brunette.

"Hey Lenne. How are you?" I asked as tears threatened to fall.

_"Oh, I'm all right. I'm a little worried about Shuyin's Company though. He said something about the gate getting rushed."_

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Tidus. I hope he's ok."

_"Yuna, honey, do you really think Shuyin would have pushed so hard to make Tidus a Sergeant if he didn't know how to handle himself?"_

"I guess you're right, but I don't like not knowing what's going on over there." I said as a couple of tears fell.

_"You and the rest of us. Now, on a happier note, do you know what we're going to sing at the concert?"_

I was glad Lenne changed the subject; I was on the verge of breaking down again. "Well, I was thinking about doing our new song, One Thousand Words."

_"Ok and the other one?"_

"I dunno, how about Can't Stop the Rain?" I asked.

_"Mmmm, no, I don't think that would be a good one for the troops. It kinda makes it sound like your boyfriend left you instead of getting deployed."_ she was silent for a moment. _"How about the song you just released a few weeks ago, What Hurts the Most?"_

"I think that will work. We could change a couple of the lyrics to make it a little more personal for the military families." I suggested.

_"That sounds like a plan. But, it's late; I'll give you a call tomorrow."_

"Alright, goodnight Lenne." I said through a yawn.

_"Goodnight Yuna." _she said before she hung up.

I set the phone back on its cradle, shut off the light, crawled into bed and lay there thinking. _Maybe I'm worrying for nothing. Tidus will be alright, I have faith that he will come home safely._ That didn't stop the thoughts of two faceless men knocking on my front door to bring me news that Tidus had died. I was sick of worrying so much. I rolled over and tried to go to sleep.

**Meanwhile in Odaiba. Chris' POV**

By the time Sergeant Williams and I made it to the gate we were directed to go to the west gate and check on their progress. Sarge drove like a bat out of hell, which is normal for him. When we arrived at the gate he stopped the Humvee and jumped out. While he ran up to the guard shack, I ran over to one of the barricades and laid down, ready to provide suppressive fire on the enemy. After about twenty five minutes, the insurgents retreated, but not before I mowed down about eight with rounds from my machine gun.

"Don't fuck with Spira!" I yelled as they ran away.

"Nice shooting Chris, though you might want to conserve your ammo next time." said Tidus as he descended the steps from the guard shack. He was right, I had used one and a half thirty round magazines to kill eight enemy combatants and wound about a dozen more.

"Sorry T, it was my first time using this type of gun since Basic. Guess I got a little carried away." I apologized.

"Come on, let's get back to supply. People are gonna need us when we get there." he said as we headed for the Humvee. Sure enough, when we got back, there were a few soldiers waiting for us, mostly needing parts for their guns but one soldier, there's _always_ one odd ball, was needing parts for a radio. I had to send that one to Commo.

Once I was done giving everyone their parts, I headed for Tidus' office. "So, did you call Yuna yet?" I asked when I walked in.

"I was in the middle of talking to her when those damn insurgents interrupted us." he replied.

"You were trying to get your freak on weren't you?" I joked, remembering that we were sixteen hours ahead of Besaid and our girls must be getting ready for bed.

Tidus flashed an evil grin and said, "Private, drop and give me fifty push-ups."

"Hey, c'mon now, we're in a war zone!"

"Exactly, that's why you're doing physical training." he leaned back in his chair with a huge grin on his face. I started to get down in the push up position when he said, "You don't have to Chris, and I'm just messing with you. Take a seat and call Amy, for Yevon's sake."

**Yuna's POV**

The next morning Rikku had flown in for the concert, which was only a day away now. We were supposed to pick Paine up at her house on the outskirts of Besaid on our way back from Bevelle International. It was a warm July day, so I had the top down on my BMW and my Valefor sunglasses on. The wind whipped through my hair, taking all my worry for a change, as I sped down the windy road towards the airport. When I had arrived, my cell rang. Figuring it was Rikku, I flipped it open.

"Hello?" I asked

_"Bevelle, the Eagle has landed!" _Came my bubbly cousin's voice.

I couldn't help but laugh; I hadn't done so in a good while. "Which terminal are you in?" I asked, still chuckling.

_"Um, Terminal B, I think. Yeah, cause there's a sign." _she replied.

"Ok, I'll wait for you at the doors."

_"Okey-dokey. I'll get my bags and head out."_

"Alright, see you in a bit Rik." I said as I closed the phone. I pulled the car over towards Terminal B as Rikku came out of the doors. She was wearing a pair of 20 gil sunglasses that were too big for her face and smacking on a piece of bubble gum. Not to mention the outfit she had on; a green miniskirt with a matching tube top. I shook my head at how immature she was.

"Hey Yunie." she said as she put her bags in the trunk. "How have you been?"

"Alright, I guess. It hasn't been the same since Tidus left." I said as she sat down in the passenger seat. "I still wake up in the middle of the night screaming his name, I keep having the same nightmare almost every night I can sleep, and I can hardly walk by his room with out crying." I finished as I pulled the car out onto the street.

"Man Yunie, you've just been a train wreck huh?" asked my cousin.

"Yeah, I didn't know a deployment would be so hard. Can you believe I actually screamed at Daddy the day after I found out he was deploying?"

"No way! Did he bite your head off like when we were kids?" she pondered.

"No, I think he understood how I was feeling."

"What about auntie Cemahla?"

"Mom's always understood me. When Tidus apologized for my outburst, she just waived it away."

"If I would have screamed at Pops, I would be six feet under by now. So where to?"

"Paine's house. We should be there in a few minutes." I said as I turned the radio up.

_"This is WYEV; Luca's ten in a row hit music station. Serving Besaid and Luca for over twenty years. Coming up next, the new hit by the Gullwings, which has already topped the charts in just two days." _said the radio announcer, Shinra.

The Gullwings' new song, Can't Stop the Rain, written and sung by yours truly, came on. It was so cool to hear our new song at the top of the charts. A smile made its way across Rikku's face.

_How, how am I supposed to feel,_

_When everything surrounding me is nothing but a fake disguise?_

_I don't know, I don't know where I belong._

_It's time for me to carry on._

_I'll say 'goodbye'_

"I remember when we put this song together. You wrote it when Tidus left for the war right?" she asked, looking at me.

"Yeah, I just wrote it to express how I felt at the time. I was crying so hard I could barely write."

_I can't stop the rain from falling, I'm trying to end these tears I cry._

_Since you left with out a warning, I face the dawn with sleepless nights._

_No I can't go on, when clouds are pushing down on me boy._

_I can't stop, I can't stop the rain from falling._

There were a few beats of music, which Rikku and Paine did a really good job. Rikku was really good with a synthesizer and Paine was just awesome with a guitar.

_So tell me where I went wrong._

_I'm stuck inside a dream all gone._

_It's hard to reveal the truth._

_Your love is nothing but a bitter taste._

_It's better if I walk away, away from the pain._

"Lenne did a great job on the background vocals, and your husband did an excellent job with the sound mixer." I told my hyperactive cousin.

_I can't stop the rain from falling, I'm trying to end these tears I cry._

_Since you left with out a warning, I face the dawn with sleepless nights._

_No I can't go on, when clouds are pushing down on me boy._

_I can't stop, I can't stop the rain from falling._

Rikku didn't appear to be paying attention to me. Her green eyes looked… sad. She sniffed and said, "Yevon Yunie, you were really upset weren't you?"

"Uh, hello? Don't you remember me calling you at 3:15 in the morning when I found out he was getting deployed?" I asked, flabbergasted that she didn't remember.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, but I've slept since then." she grinned sheepishly.

We had arrived at Paine's house just as Can't Stop the Rain finished playing. There were a few commercials on, so I turned the radio down as Dr. P came out.

"Hello Yuna, Rikku. Are we ready to get this rehearsal out of the way?" she said in her usual monotone voice.

"Come on Dr. P! Lighten up will ya?" replied Rikku as she blew a bubble with her gum, which Paine popped. "Awwww man! You made me get gum on my sun glasses!" she whined.

"Are you going to let me in or what?" asked Paine menacingly.

"Ok, ok! Jeez!"

"So, are we heading to your house Yuna?" asked the warrior.

"After we get something to snack on." I replied as my tummy growled.

"Are you feeling ok Yunie?" inquired my cousin.

"I'm feeling fine, I just ate a light lunch." I said.

I turned the radio back up as I backed out of Paine's driveway.

_"And we're back with another Gullwings number one." _said the DJ, Shinra.

_"I heard they're going to be at the concert in Luca tomorrow, Shinra."_ said Isaaru, the other DJ on the radio program.

_"You know, I heard the same thing. I guess we'll just have to find out tomorrow, where we will be broadcasting live, I might add."_

I was just listening to the chatter on the radio, not really grasping what they were saying, until Isaaru asked,_ "Isn't one of the soldiers from the local National Guard unit engaged to the High Summoner's daughter?"_

_"Yes, and as a special request from Braska himself, we will also have a special satellite feed directly to Camp Talon in Odaiba. So, if you're coming to the concert and you have a family member overseas, let us know." _replied Shinra.

_"By the way we have two free backstage passes for caller ten, if you can correctly guess the next song."_

_"Is it going to be He's All That, Because the Night, or What do You Want From Me?"_ finished Shinra, like he was asking Isaaru, not mentioning the name of another one of our number ones.

_"Nothing, why are you getting on my case?" _snapped Isaaru.

_"No numbskull, that's the name of one of their songs." _replied Shinra._ "And we have a caller. Hello, you're caller ten!"_

_"All right! Let me take a wild guess. Um, is it going to be Because the Night?" _asked the caller.

_"Is that your final answer?"_ asked Isaaru.

"_Is it too late to change my answer?"_

_"Why bother, because you're right! Here in a moment we'll get your information and you can pick up the passes at our van tomorrow before the concert starts. This is Isaaru and the Whiz-kid on WYEV, your ten in a row hit music station."_

Then my favorite song came on, I couldn't help but sing along.

"_Take me now, baby here as I am,_

_Hold me close, try and understand._

_Desire is hunger, is the fire I breathe, _

_Love is a banquet on which we feed._

_Come on now try and understand_

_The way I feel when I'm in your hands_

_Take my hand, come under cover._

_They can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now,_

"_Because the night belongs to lovers,_

_Because the night belongs to lust._

_Because the night belongs to lovers,_

_Because the night belongs to us._

"_Because the night belongs to lovers,_

_Because the night belongs to lust._

_Because the night belongs to lovers,_

_Because the night belongs to us."_

I bobbed my head with the beat of the music, receiving a funny look from my cousin. "What?" I asked innocently.

An electronic voice picked up _"Because the night" _with an echo on 'night'. Rikku's synthesizer came in for a few beats, then a different voice said _"Because the night belongs to us"_ echoing on 'us'. Rikku's synthesizer became a piano for the second verse, which I sang along to "Have I doubt, baby when I'm alone? Love is a ring, a telephone. Love is an angel disguised as lust, here in our beds till the morning comes. Come on now try and understand the way I feel under your command. Take my hand-"until the inevitable call of nature hit. Too bad I didn't have call-waiting. Luckily there was a gas station up ahead.

"Ooh, I knew I shouldn't have had that forty ounce Coke." I said as I squirmed in the driver's seat.

After a bathroom and snack break, we headed for my beach house.

**Later on that night, Yuna's POV**

Lenne had arrived not too long after we got to my house. I just had to ask her how she was able to deal with an empty house with Shuyin gone.

"Well, I have a picture of him in almost every room in the house, but I know he's always in my heart. With him being a Captain, I've just gotten used to him being away." she replied.

We practiced One Thousand Words a few times before turning our attention to One More Night.

"This is a song I wrote about a week after Tidus left for Odaiba, once the shock had worn off." I told the girls when I came back with the sheet music and handed out copies. "I wanted to spend one more night with him and just sat down and started writing it."

"So I take it we're not doing 'What Hurts the Most'." said Rikku.

"Well, no. I just remembered that I wrote this while we were practicing One Thousand Words." I said, hoping the girls would like the song. I began to have my doubts when nobody spoke.

"This sounds just like me when Shuyin left for Basic and Officer Candidate School." said Lenne after a moment.

"I like this one Yunie." chimed in Rikku

"Sounds easy to play." agreed Paine.

So we practiced the song that I had written until about eleven, when we all decided to turn in for the night. The girls and I had a sort of unspoken rule; no one goes into my fiancé's room until he gets back. No matter how messy it was, I wanted it to be just like he left so he would feel at home. Rikku slept in my room, "just like when we were kids." she had said. Lenne and Paine took the guest beds downstairs. My house had about five thousand square feet of space, with eight hundred square feet in the basement as well.

I had just changed into my night clothes and was getting ready to lay down when a pillow came flying from out of nowhere. I was glad it hit me instead of the picture of me and Tidus at the homecoming dance that was sitting next to my bed. I would have killed my hyperactive cousin if anything would have happened to it.

**Rikku's POV**

"Alright Rikku, you're on!" Yunie yelled playfully as she grabbed a pillow. Yevon, it was so good to hear her laugh. I hadn't heard laugh since the day before she called me to tell me that Tidus was deploying.

She waited for me to peek over the bed to see where she was before she threw it. I squealed like a giddy teenager when the silk pillow case made contact with my face. I picked myself up off of the floor, grabbed the pillow and jumped up on the bed. I threw the pillow at my cousin, missing her but hitting her surround sound stereo. A slow song started to play. I think it was the Candlelight mix "Every Time We Touch" from one of our earlier albums.

_I still hear your voice when you sleep_

_Next to me._

_I still feel you touch in my dreams._

_Forgive me my weakness_

_But I don't know why_

_Without you it's hard to survive_

_'Cause every time we touch I get this feeling_

_And every time we kiss I swear I can fly._

_Can't you feel my heart beat fast,_

_I want this to last,_

_need you by my side_

_'Cause every time we touch I feel the static._

_And every time we kiss I reach for the sky._

_Can't you hear my heart beat so?_

_I can't let you go,_

_Want you in my life._

_Your arms are my castle,_

_your heart is my sky._

_They wipe away tears that I cry._

_Oh, the good and the bad times _

_We've been through the- _

Then the stereo went dead. I looked over at Yunie, who was standing with her back to me, holding the remote. From the way her shoulders were shaking, I could tell that she was crying.

"I'm sorry Yunie. I… didn't mean…" I trailed off.

She turned around… smiling, with no visible signs of having just cried. _Man, this woman is good at hiding her emotions. _I thought. So I said, "Um, I guess I'll go to bed. 'Night Yunie."

"You know Rik, I wrote that song when Tidus left for Basic. I don't understand why I write song like that when he's gone. When he's here, I write songs like Because the Night, He's All That, and the original mix of Every Time We Touch." she said as she sat on the end of the bed.

"Maybe how you're feeling is affecting how you write. For example; One Thousand Words was written just after he left for Odaiba. The day he left you didn't say goodbye, but you were listening. He told you to save your tears 'cause he'll be back and to wait for him, he'll write you letters. That song was written from the heart, as a way to express how you were feeling. 'A thousand words will cradle you, making all of the pain you feel seem far away.'" I told her. "You didn't write that song for Tidus, you wrote that for Yunie too."

"But this dream isn't over yet. I still relive that day. He's been there with me all the way. I could see how he stammered with his eyes to the floor. Shouting and anger might have been the answer. What if I'd cried my eyes out and begged him not to depart?" she responded.

"He would have apologized and said that he still had to go." I replied.

"Exactly. Now, I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart." she smiled sadly. "Tidus taught me that."

"Well, he's right. You shouldn't be afraid of a thing like that. Have I ever been afraid to say what's in my heart?" I asked.

"Yes, when Gippal was about to propose to you were." she flashed a playful grin. "Other than that, I don't think so."

"You're so mean." I pouted. After seeing Yunie yawn I added, "let's go to bed. We've got to get up early for the concert tomorrow."

"Alright, goodnight Rikku." she said as she crawled in bed.

I crawled into bed as well and shut off the lamp on my side.

**Back in Odaiba. Tidus' POV.**

I was sitting in my office, thinking about going and getting a Coke from the PX when Shu walked in.

"Have you called your soon to be father-in-law yet?" he asked.

_Oh, shit. I __**knew**__ I was forgetting something. _I thought. "No not yet. It didn't occur to me when I was talking to Yuna yesterday. Then those damn insurgents tried their little stunt, so, I just forgot." I said. "Why?"

"Because I just got a phone call from his office asking if you were all right and the names of the casualties in yesterday's attack. His secretary left me his cell phone number, so you should be able to contact him anywhere." he said as he handed a number across the desk to me.

"Unless he's at Lake Macalania. He never answers his cell when he's fishing." I told Shuyin as I took the number. "Believe me, I've tried."

"Well, his secretary also said that if his caller ID says DOD, he said he would drop whatever he's doing and answer the phone.'' my CO replied.

_I could see Braska letting 'the big one' go just to answer a call from me. _I thought sarcastically. "Alright, I'll give him a call." I sad as I picked up the phone and dialed his cell number.

"_Hello?_" asked Braska.

"Braska? It's me, Tidus. Shuyin just told me that your secretary just called."

"_Ah, yes. First off, have you called Yuna yet?_"

Yes sir, I spoke to her yesterday before the attack. She was glad to hear from me."

"_I kind of figured she would be. So how are you doing?_"

"I can't complain. On one hand I'm glad to be over here, on the other, I want to be back in Besaid drinking a beer on the back porch overlooking the cove."

Braska laughed. "_I know how you feel son. There are days I don't want to head in to the palace, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do._"

"Tell me about it. So how are thing in Bevelle?"

"_Oh just fine. Cemahla bought me a new bass boat and a new fishing rod for our anniversary. And the concert for the troops in Luca will start at one o'clock tomorrow. It will be televised through the Morale, Wealth and Recreation channels over there at one o'clock your time._"

"Cool."

"_There is a new bill going through the legislature to get more funding for the DOD though. Unfortunately it will raise taxes a little, so I'm a little concerned about the lower and middle class people._"

_Like my parents were. _I thought.

"_But, I think it will pass. Thank Yevon Gippal used money from his own pocket to get you guys some better equipment. If he hadn't, taxes would go up more than they will._" he continued.

"That's good. Well, since it's late, over there, I'll let you go for now."

"_Alright, take care son._"

"You too. And, tell Cemahla I said hi."

"_Will do son. Talk to you later._"

"'Bye" I said as I hung up. I leaned back in my chair, thinking. _I need to talk to Commo about setting up a video feed in my office so Yuna and Amy can talk to Chris and me. I'll take care of it when I get the chance._

**The next day before the concert. Yuna's POV**

Oh Yevon. The day of the concert had finally arrived. I hardly ate any breakfast that morning before the girls and I set out towards Luca. Since Yevon had blessed us with nice weather all week, I decided to put the top down on my BMW after I backed it out of the garage. When I opened the door to my car, I stopped and looked at Tidus' Camaro. I know I said he spent too much time working on his car, but is was still weird to walk into the garage and not see the hood open or Tidus' legs sticking out from under it.

"I hope you're ok sweetheart." I whispered as I got in my Cerulean Blue BMW. Tidus had always said that it matches my right eye. The seats that Tidus had custom made for 'a one of a kind girl' had the same blue on the seats with 'Yuna' embroidered in the headrests and custom colored stitching that matched my left said that the blue was 'as deep as the ocean' and the green was for my playful side. He even got me a license plate that read 'Tidus' Girl', while the plate on his Camaro read 'Yuna's Man' He had the seats installed a week before he got the call to go to Odaiba. Every time I slid in on the leather seats I had to fight back tears.

Today was no different as I backed the car out of the garage, listening to 'Because the Night', which was my fiancé's favorite song and wasn't really helping, when Lenne stepped outside. I looked her way and, realizing that I was crying, quickly looked away. I heard her walk towards me as I tried to dry my tears.

"I know how you feel Yuna." she said softly. "A deployment is hard, but that's what we have to deal with."

"But every time I see a picture with him in it or I walk by his car and not see him working on it I cry. I can't even get in my own car with out crying." I cried. "I can't cope with him gone."

"But that's what military families do, Yuna, we help each other cope. We give each other strength and reassurance." she said as a sea breeze lifted her long brown hair gently. "Isn't that what the teachings say?" she added referring to the teachings of Yevon.

"I guess you're right. Go get the others so we can head to the concert." I said as I reached for the button to put the top down.

She smiled sweetly and said "Ok," before heading inside to get Paine and Rikku. I reached over to the cd player and switched out the album Truly, Madly, Deeply, and put in our new album, which we hadn't even named yet. This album contained '1000 words' and 'One More Night', plus other songs that we hadn't released yet, with the exception being 'Because the Night', which we released four days ago.

Lenne, Rikku and Paine came out of the house and Rikku and Dr. P climbed in the back seat. Lenne slid into the passenger seat just as I put the car into gear to back out of the driveway. I tapped the play button on the steering wheel as we pulled out onto the street. I turned the volume up a little louder than I usually did in an attempt to clear my head before the concert.

Daddy called when we were about twenty minutes outside of Luca with an additional ten minute drive across town to the Blitzball stadium. He told me to come in the back parking lot behind the stage and park next to his limousine.

When we arrived some passers by stopped and stared as we pulled through the gate. I was looking for Daddy's limo when Rikku spotted one. Since it was the only one in the lot, I figured it must be his, though it wasn't the Mercedes I was used to seeing. I pulled up next to the beautiful, cream-colored Rolls Royce. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it had color matching seats with an ebony carpet.

"Like my new ride Pumpkin?" asked Daddy as he walked up with mom.

"It looks nicer than the Mercedes you had. When did you get it?" I asked.

"I bought it last week for your mother as her anniversary gift." was his reply. "I still use the Mercedes."

I mentally slapped myself. I had been so wrapped up in my grief I had forgotten my parent's twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

Mom must have read my thoughts, because she said, "Don't worry about it dear. You have your own problems to worry about with Tidus being in Odaiba."

"By the way, you're on stage at one thirty. I hope my little girl is ready for her debut." said Daddy.

"Daddy! I'm not little any more." I huffed.

"Maybe not, but you'll always be daddy's little girl." he said with a smile. "I have to go back over to the stage and talk Baralai for a few minutes. Excuse me."

Mom pulled me to the side as the girls headed for the dressing room. "Are you feeling ok?" she asked. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Yeah, why?" I questioned. _**Why**__ in the name of Yevon would she ask a thing like that? _I pondered.

"Oh, no reason. It just seemed that you were more upset then when Tidus left for Basic Training." she replied with a soft, motherly smile. "It just seemed that you were extremely grief-stricken. If it doesn't get better, go see your doctor. You might be having a little depression, since Rikku said you don't get out much anymore."

"Mom, Tidus left for war a month ago. I just heard from him Thursday, and before he hung up the gate had been attacked. I was just worried that he wasn't ok." I replied.

"Ok sweetheart. Now go get ready. Your father and I will be watching you from back stage." She replied as she flattened out my shirt, before she kissed me on the cheek and walked towards the stage.

_OK, __**that**__ was weird. _I thought as I walked to the dressing room. I didn't give it another thought as I changed into my Songstress dresssphere. Once we were all changed, had our makeup on we headed backstage since we were up next.

We listened to a song about someone being on the road, calling from a lonely, cold hotel room. When he called his wife, he heard his kids laughing in the background, when he heard a little voice on the phone asking "Daddy, when are you coming home?" he had said "I'm already there, take a look around. I'm the sunshine in your hair, I'm the shadow on the ground. I'm the whisper in the wind, and I'll be there 'til the end. And I know, I'm in your prayers." **(in case anyones wondering, it Lonestar's I'm Already There (Message From Home)**

Once the song was finished Baralai stepped up to the microphone and gave a little fill in talk until the stage was set up for us.

"And without further ado, The Gullwings!" The crowd erupted into cheers and screams as we made our way onto the stage. Paine took her place at the drums on my right, while Rikku took the synthesizer on my left. Lenne and I had center stage.

I stepped up to my microphone and said, "You know, when I found out that my fiancé's unit was getting sent to Odaiba, I, like many other military wives and fiancées on their first deployment, was a complete train wreck. The uncertainty of whether or not that 'special someone' will come back to us, is present until they finally do. That's why I say to the military families here today, and those watching at home; help each other, support each other, but most of all, be there for one another, just like the teachings of Yevon ask us to do every day. I probably wouldn't be here today if my best friend, and fellow military girl weren't here to help me." I turned to Lenne and said, "Lenne, thank you so much for being there when I needed you."

"Any time Lady Yuna. I'm glad I could help."

"This is a song that we wrote just after Tidus, Lenne's husband, Shuyin, and Amy Lesca's fiancé, Chris, left for the war. It's a song we haven't released yet, and is titled One Thousand Words."

At those words, Rikku struck a few keys on the synthesizer as Paine struck the cymbals lightly.

_I know that you're hiding things_

_Using gentle words to shelter me._

_Your words were like a dream,_

_But dreams could never fool me,_

_Not that easily._

_I acted so distant then_

_Didn't say goodbye before you left._

_But I was listening:_

_You'll fight your battles far from me_

_Far too easily._

"_Save your tears 'cause I'll come back"_

_I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door_

_But still I swore_

_To hide the pain. _

_When I turn back the pages:_

_Shouting might have been the answer_

_What if I'd cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart?_

_But now I'm not afraid_

_To say what's in my heart_

Lenne came in on the last line of verse one and sung it with me through the end of the chorus.

_Though a thousand words_

_Have never been spoken_

_They'll fly to you_

_Crossing over the time and distance holding you_

_Suspended on silver wings_

_And a thousand words_

_One thousand confessions_

_Will cradle you_

_Making all of the pain you feel seem far away_

_They'll hold you forever._

For a few beats Rikku played the notes on the keyboard while Paine tapped away on the drums.

_The dream isn't over yet_

_Though I often say I can forget_

_I still relive that day_

_You've been there with me all the way_

_I still hear you say:_

"_Wait for me I'll write you letters"_

_I could see how you stammered _

_with your eyes to the floor_

_But still I swore_

_To hide the doubt_

_When I turn back the pages_

_Anger might have been the answer…_

_What if I'd hung my head and said _

_that I couldn't wait?_

_But now I'm strong enough to know_

_It's not too late._

Lenne came in again on the background vocals, really singing her heart out. I stole a glance at her and saw her eyes shining with tears. I glanced back out at the crowd, and saw several people holding each other, some holding lighters in the air.

'_cause a thousand words_

_Call out through the ages_

_They'll fly to you_

_Even though I can't see_

_I know they're reaching you_

_Suspended on silver wings_

_Oh, a thousand words_

_One thousand embraces_

_Will cradle you_

_Making all of your weary days seem far away_

_They'll hold you forever_

Lenne and I held the last notes for a few seconds longer that we did on the first chorus before Rikku and Paine joined in after some well played music through the bridge. Lenne, Rikku, and Paine all did the backgrounds for the last chorus while I came in a little later than they did.

_Oh a thousand words (A thousand words)_

_Have never been spoken (Ooh yeah)_

_They'll fly to you_

_They'll carry you home (Carry you hooome) _

While I held the note on "home", the girls continued

_And Back into my arms_

_Suspended on silver wings (On silver wings)_

_And a thousand words (Ohh)_

_Call out through the ages (call through the ages)_

_They'll cradle you (Oh yeah)_

_Turning all of the lonely years to only days (Only days)_

_They'll hold you forever_

I waited to sing until "forever", holding the note out with the girls flawlessly, before singing the last line of the song by myself.

_A thousand words._

I lowered the microphone as Rikku finished the song on the keyboard and the crowd erupted into cheers again.

**1:30 pm in Odaiba. Tidus' POV**

Shuyin, Chris and I were watching the concert with the rest of HHC in the common room of the barracks we were staying in for the rest of the year. Shuyin, Chris and I all had front row seats in front of the sixty five inch plasma screen TV. Nobody said or did anything while the Gullwings were on stage.

Yevon, what a nice song that was. I had actually teared up while our girls sang One Thousand Words.

Baralai raised his microphone and said, "The Gullwings have another not yet released song written especially for the troops. But first Lady Yuna has something to say."

_Wonder what she has to say this time. _I thought.

Yuna took her microphone, looked straight at the camera and said, "This next song is one that I had written just after Tidus left for Odaiba, once the shock had worn off. After being used to him being there with me every day, I wanted to spend just one more night with him. So, Tidus, since I know that Daddy set up this special satellite feed for all the troops over there, this is what I have to say: stay safe, trust in Yevon, and come home soon so we can get married. I love you and I miss you so much. Please, take care of yourself over there."

Lenne stepped beside Yuna and added, "Captain Shuyin Hodges, make sure Tidus takes care over there. If you don't, I get what's left of you when you get home. Braska and Yuna have agreed to leave me you butt." she said playfully, prompting jeers from HHC. "And all you soldiers watching this, thank you for defending our country, and we all look forward to seeing you come home." she added.

"Well I guess you're under my thumb more than ever Ti." joked my Commanding Officer

"Shuyin, if you weren't a Captain, I'd knock you down a peg or two just like when we were in high school." I replied, laughing. "But, it seems your wife will take care of things." Shuyin turned bright red at that.

"This song is called One More Night, and is written for Tidus." said Yuna as Rikku started playing notes on her keyboard.

_You are all I can think of  
after all that we've been through  
forever in my heart_

now i'm through  
and June feels like november  
still can't believe its true  
too long we'll be apart

Then Lenne came in with Yuna on the chorus.

_one more night i wanna be with you  
where i can hold you tight  
it feels so right  
tonight  
don't leave this up to fate  
and i think the time is right  
to stop the fight_

_one more dream without you there  
where i cannot hold you tight  
Nothing feels all right  
tonight  
I won't leave it up to fate  
and i think the time is right  
to stop the fight__  
_  
Rikku took over with the synthesizer for a bit, her hands flying over the keys.

_Stop the fight._

_Stop the fight._

_why can't true love be forever  
why did my dream explode  
the day you went away  
I'll try to keep everything together  
i wish you to see tomorrow  
I'm a girl from yesterday __  
_

_one more night i wanna be with you_  
_where i can hold you tight  
it feels so right  
tonight  
don't leave this up to fate  
and i think the time is right  
to stop the fight_

_one more dream without you there  
where i cannot hold you tight  
Nothing feels all right  
tonight  
I won't leave it up to fate  
and i think the time is right  
to stop the fight_

_one more night i wanna be with you_  
_where i can hold you tight  
it feels so right  
tonight  
don't leave this up to fate  
and i think the time is right  
to stop the fight_

Rikku made some really cool sounds on her synthesizer through the end of the song. You would hardly think they were made on a keyboard.

After the song ended, Yuna said, "Thank you all for letting us try out our new songs. We haven't named our new album yet, but it should hit stores sometime in September. Enjoy the rest of the concert." then the Gullwings walked off stage amongst roars and cheers from the crowd.

After the concert had ended, Chris and I were walking back to supply when he said, "Man, I wish Amy would write songs for me. Your woman has some real talent T."

"Relax Chris. I'm willing to bet that Amy has something really nice for you when we return home. All I'll have waiting for me is Yuna, my Camaro and a case of beer."

**The next day. **

I was sitting in my office, thinking about calling Yuna to tell her what I thought about her songs, when my telephone rang.

"Hello, HHC supply, Sergeant Williams speaking."

"_Tidus?_" said Yuna

"Hey baby, what's up?"

"_There's… something I want to tell you_" she said.

* * *

**Uh oh! what does Yuna have to tell him??? I'll never tell, so you'll just have to come back for chapter 6, which i'm currently working on. hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**


	6. The Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter 6: The Calm Before the Storm**

**Yuna's POV**

I was so scared. What I was about to tell him I wasn't even sure of. I knew Tidus loved me, but that didn't stop a few stray thoughts from running through my head.

**Yuna's thoughts**

"_I... I think I might be pregnant" I said into the receiver._

"_What?!" He shouted. I could tell he was mad. That just made me feel worse._

"_I thought you'd be happy." I told him with tears streaming down my face._

"_i doubt it's even mine. I've been in Odaiba for over a month. Who have you been fucking while I'm out here? I'll send for my things when I get back to Spira." click and the phone went dead. _

**End thoughts**

_"What's wrong baby?" _I could hear the worry in his voice.

I bit my lip as I tried to find the words. So many thoughts were running through my mind. _'Will he be happy? Will he ditch me while he's over there?' _and the like.

_"Yuna?"_

I decided to bite the bullet and tell him. I took a deep breath and quietly said, "I think I might be pregnant." I waited for his response, my heart threatening to leap out of my chest.

_"Say that again?" _he obviously didn't hear me.

"Tidus... I... think I might be pregnant." I told him again. I closed my eyes and braced my self for the outburst.

He was silent for a moment. _"Are you sure honey?" _he asked. He didn't sound the least bit mad.

"Well, I'm not sure. The day before the concert I was supposed to start my period, a-and I've never been late before. I'm going to my doctor here in a little bit."

_"Alright, keep me posted." _he said

I'll call you when I get out of the doctors office ok?"

_"Alright, but I've got to go on a supply run so I'll call you when I get in. Leave me a message."_

"Ok. I love you."

_"I love you too. Whatever the outcome, I know we'll get through this."_

"'bye"

_"Goodbye sweetheart." Click _and the phone went dead.

Yevon, I was so scared to go see my doctor, but knowing that Tidus was with me all the way helped still that fear. _In a way, I kind of hope I am. I think i'm ready to be a mother._I thought Tidus would be ready to start a family too. I grabbed my purse and car keys and headed for my BMW. After getting in my car I put a CD in the player, selected 'He's All That' and headed for Bevelle.

**Tidus' POV**

" Yevon." That's all I had to say about the possibility of Yuna being pregnant. I was overjoyed, but... scared. My days of being a fun loving kid could be just about over. If she really was pregnant, I was going to have to grow up. And quick. Fatherhood wasn't meant for kids.

I sat in my chair mulling things over in my mind, when Chris walked in.

"Hey Tidus."

"Huh? Oh, hi Chris" I said as I snapped out of my trance.

"Jeez, what's got you today? Did you get a call from Yuna?"

"Yeah, she said she might be pregnant." I said as I looked at my subordinate. "to be honest, I'm kinda scared. I don't know the first thing about being a dad."

"Sure you do. From what you've told me, your dad was a good man. Just follow his example."

"I never really paid much attention. But, wow, I might get to be a dad!" I said, smiling.

**Yuna's POV**

I drove down the highway, mulling over the conversation Tidus and I had. I pulled up to the Bevelle Memorial Hospital Medical Offices building and parked. I closed the top on the car and headed in to my doctor's office. I spoke to the receptionist and sat down, waiting for my Ob to call me.

"Yuna? The doctor will see you now." said the receptionist after a few minutes. I got up and slowly walked towards the door, secretly hoping that I wasn't... you-know-what.

"Hello, Yuna. Its a bit early for your visit isn't it?" asked my doctor, Dr. Julianna Sanchez.

"Well, I think I _might_ be pregnant." I stated, cutting right to the chase.

"Hm, when was the last time you and Tidus had sexual intercourse?" she asked as she took my blood pressure.

"About a month ago, before I found out he was getting deployed."

"How's he doing by the way?"

"He's doing alright. The day before the concert was the first time I heard from him since he left."

"Does he know about the possibility?"

"I called him just before I left to come to Bevelle."

"He should be pretty happy if you are. He seems like a nice guy from the last time he came in with you."

'_You have no idea.' _I thought with a smile.

"Alright Yuna. I'm going to send you up to the lab for a pregnancy test." she said as she handed me a piece of paper. I took it and headed for the third floor. When I walked in, I saw an old friend of mine from high school sitting behind the desk.

"Hi Calli, how are you doing?" I said as I stopped at the desk.

"Yuna! Oh, my Yevon how are you? I'm doing good. What brings you in here?" said the brunette as she rushed around the desk and hugged me. Calli was a little shorter than me, her hair was a slightly deeper brown than mine, and she had it up in pigtails. "I haven't seen you since I went to Bevelle Community College."

"I know, its been a while. The reason i'm in today is because I need a... certain kind of test done. For women who aren't sure about whether or not they're... something." I said hoping she'd catch the hint.

Apparently she was sharper than I gave her credit for, as she opened her eyes wide and smiled. "Are you serious?"

I blushed and nodded. "But keep it to yourself. I don't want the press to know." The less I was in the spotlight with Tidus gone, the happier I was.

"Ok. Well come on back and we'll do the blood sample. You'll know within an hour." she said as I followed her around to the booth.

I sat in the chair as she drew the curtain. She then wrapped a piece of latex strip around my arm to make my vein pop out. I looked away as she readied the needle to draw blood.

"You'll feel a bit of a sting, but it will be over soon."

I softly gasped as she stuck the needle into my arm. I dared to look down once the sting was over.

"If you are pregnant, what are you hoping for Yuna?" she asked as the vial filled with blood.

"I haven't really thought about it. I'm kinda hoping for a little boy who looks just like his daddy." I said with a girlish giggle.

"I'm hoping I have a little girl, whenever I decide to settle down." she replied. "Alright, we're done here. Just wait out front and I'll have your results in about thirty minutes."

"Promise me you wont look at the results till I have?" I said playfully.

"Only if I get to see them with you." she replied smiling and winking as she ran off to process the test.

I went back out and waited in the lobby, picking up a copy of Bevelle Insider to kill time. There was a report over the concert in Luca yesterday, talking about how big the turn out was and how the Gullwings had stolen the show with our new songs One Thousand Words and One More Night.

After about thirty minutes, Calli came back with the results. "Ready, Yuna?" she asked as she sat down beside me and handed over the paper.

I closed my eyes and took the paper. I took a deep breath, opened my eyes and gasped. "I can't believe it. I'm pregnant!" I breathed.

Calli smiled and said, "I'm happy for you Yuna. Can I spoil the kid?"

I laughed and replied, "After Mom and Daddy have." then my face fell.

"Whats wrong?"

"Tidus won't be back until next year. Babies come in nine month packages, he's going to miss the birth. I wish to Yevon he hadn't of enlisted."

"Can't your dad pull some strings and get him to come home around your due date?"

"He might be able to. I'll talk to him in a bit. Mom and I are supposed to go out for a while." I said as I got up to leave.

"Alright Yuna. Take care of yourself." she waved as she headed back to her desk.

"You too, Calli." I said as I opened the door and headed towards the parking lot. I pulled out my cell and dialed Daddy's number.

"_Hello?" _asked mom when she picked up.

"Hey, mom. It's me."

"_You sound happy today._"

"Well, I have something to tell you. Mind if I come by? I'm already in Bevelle."

"_Oh, sure honey. You're more than welcome to stop by anytime. This is your home as well as Tidus'_"

"Ok mom. I'll be there in a few."

"_Alright honey. Drive careful._" And then the phone went dead.

_Oh, boy. How am I going to tell my parents? I hope they wont be mad. _I thought as I started my car. "Yeah, mom, i'm pregnant." I said sarcastically. "Yeah, right. Like _that_ will work." I pondered it a moment. "Mom, dad, I'm really sorry, but you're about to become grandparents." I shook my head. "No, that won't work either. I'll just come right out and say it."

I drove down the street, lost in thought. I nearly ran a red light, I was so distracted. _Come on Yuna, pull it together girl. Get your head out of the clouds and back to Spira_. I turned into the gated, winding driveway and parked my car in front of the house. I closed the top, due to a chance of rain, and the sky was starting to get a little overcast. I walked up the steps and entered the house I had called home for eighteen and a half years.

"Hi honey. How was your day?" asked mom as I entered the grand living room, the same room I had screamed at Daddy a month prior.

"It's been alright. I just got out of the doctors office." I said, trying to hint at what I had found out but still trying to steer clear of the subject.

"Oh, and what did you find out?" she asked.

"I-I'm... pregnant." I said quietly as I subconsciously moved my had to my stomach. I looked at my mother and bit my lip slightly.

Much to my surprise, she just smiled sweetly and said, "I figured as much."

"You- you mean you're not mad?"

"Of course not honey. I knew it was a matter of time before you were."

"how did you...?" I asked, still trying to recover from the shock that my own mother knew before I did.

"The way you were acting the day you and Tidus came by to tell us he was getting deployed. That, and the fact that Rikku told me that you were highly upset. I knew that, yes you would be upset, but not like you were. That's what told me you were pregnant." she said sweetly. " I also knew that you would take my advice and go see your doctor."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"I wasn't sure if you were or not. I just had a hunch. Call it 'mother's intuition'." she said as she laid a hand on my arm. "I'm so happy for you and Tidus, honey."

"But, Tidus wont be back in time for the birth. It's going to feel awkward having Daddy in there during the delivery."

"I'll talk to your father about getting Tidus to come home on leave."

"Well, I'll talk to Daddy here in a little while. I was going to swing by on my way back to Besaid." I said as I stood up to leave.

Mom stood as well and gave me a hug, saying "alright honey. Drive careful."

"Always, I have a new passenger to look out for." I said as I rubbed my stomach. "I'll see you later mom."

Once I was in the car, I headed for the Palace. I was a little nervous about telling Daddy. Then I had a crazy thought. _Yeah, Daddy, Tidus and I broke in the new house and I got knocked up. _"Ha! Yeah, riiiight. He'd never go for that. Not in a million years."

When I had arrived, I pulled my car around to the private entrance for family members, showed my ID to the guard, and parked the car before heading in. I walked down the limestone halls and up the marble staircase to Daddy's office. His secretary smiled as I walked up and motioned for me to go in.

"Hey sweetie. You're looking mighty cheerful today." he said as he looked up.

"I was in town and thought I should come by and see you Daddy." I said while giving him my most innocent look, hands clasped behind me, my head cocked to one side, twisting gently. "We're about to have a new addition to the family."

"Oh? Planning on having the wedding the day Tidus gets back?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"That's not what I was talking about Daddy. I'm... I'm pregnant."

His eyes went wide and he said, "Oh. Well, congratulations sweetheart. I'll bet Tidus is proud."

"He seemed like he was. Do you think theres anyway you could get him to come home around my due date?"

"I don't see why not. In fact, I'll call his Company Commander first thing in the morning."

"You're not mad are you?"

"Me? No honey, I'm not mad." he smiled gently. "My little girl's growing up." his eyes sparkled."Wow. My first grand baby. I can't wait to spoil him, let him stay up late and send him home all hyped up on sugar."

"Daddy!" I whined. "well, on nights you give him sugar he'll just stay at your place."

"I see no problem with that. I can already tell that he's going to be a good blitzer like his father."

"I'm sure he will be Daddy." I said, smiling as I pictured Tidus losing to our child down the road. "I'd better let you get back to work, Daddy. I promised mom I'd drive carefully with the new passenger." I said, glancing out the window at the dark grey sky.

"Yeah, it's supposed to storm. Take your time heading home honey." he said as he slid his chair back and walked over to me.

I wrapped my arms around my father and gave him a goodbye kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you when I get in."

"Alright sweetheart. Take care."

I headed back out to the car and got in as a few raindrops started to fall. I turned the wipers on, backed out of my parking spot, and pointed the car towards Besaid.

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**Ok, that's chapter 6! hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it! don't forget to review, please? I'm currently working on chapter 7, but i doubt it will be up before april 4. i'll be on military orders for training for 2 weeks. but the more reviews i get, the more motivated i will be to finish.**

**Due to a family emergency, Chapter 7 will not be up for some time. Everything is OK now, but i'm still not done with the next installment. More reviews might help me finish soon. (Hint, hint) ^_^**


	7. Can't Stop the Rain

**Hey guys. this is the edited version of Can't Stop the Rain. I spoke with a Sergeant who has been to combat and he pointed out a few details i forgot in the chapter. the changes are in the section where Tidus sees combat. with oout the additions, the chapter isn't all that clear as to what can happen in a combat situation. hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**I do not own the name of this chapter, it belongs to Cascada. i just thought that it would make a nice title. I also do not own anything related to Final Fantasy X-2. I only own the last names.**

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**Chapter 7: Can't Stop the Rain.**

**Odaiba, Normal POV.**

Tidus and Chris headed out to the motor pool for the 3rd Battalion and searched for their Humvee.

"Do you have any idea where they put it Tidus?" asked Chris, searching through the numerous military vehicles.

"I found it, they put it amongst Charlie Company's vehicles." replied Tidus, spotting the Humvee.

Chris chuckled heartily. "Must have been some dumb Private."

"Oh, you mean like you?" asked Tidus, grinning.

"Aw, come on T. You know I'm smarter than the average idiot." replied Chris. "Lets get the PMCS over with. **(A/N: Preventative Maintenance Checks and Services)**

"Alright, Private." said Tidus as he pulled out the checklist and started reading off the list. "Running lamps?"

"Check" said Chris as he checked the lights.

"Turn signals?"

"Check."

"Blackout lights?"

"Check"

"Hazards?"

"Check."

"Oil?"

"Give me a sec to open the hood." said Chris as he unhooked the hood latches. "Oil level reads full." he confirmed as he pulled out and reinserted the oil dipstick.

"OK. What about leaks?" asked Tidus as she stooped down to look at the rear differential.

"None up here on my end." replied Chris.

"None back here either." agreed Tidus as he checked leaks off of the list. "Alright, one last thing. Fire extinguisher?"

"Yep. We got it." Chris confirmed as he looked at it.

"What's its charge?"

"Full. We're ready to roll out anytime Sarge."

"Roger that. We'll head out at approximately eight hundred hours." said Tidus, looking at his watch. "That gives us thirty minutes to get something to drink before we set out."

"Sweet. I'm going to get one of those Jolt Colas I've heard about. They say the old recipe will keep you up for a good twenty four hours."

"Mm, maybe you don't need one then. Besides the temperature will peak at around one hundred forty degrees today." replied the Sergeant.

"Ah, good point. I'll get a couple of iced teas then." said Chris.

"When we get home I'll introduce you to Yuna's homemade iced tea." said Tidus as an after thought as he and Chris headed for the Post Exchange.

**Back in Spira. Yuna's POV.**

It was raining hard as I drove down the highway, headed for the house. I had reduced my speed from fifty five to forty. Lightning flashed as a weather bulletin came across the radio. High winds, heavy rain and hail were to be expected. I shuddered, praying to Yevon that the baby and I made it home safely. I also prayed that Tidus was safe. Yevon knows what I would do without him.

I pulled into the garage just as lightning flashed outside and hail started to fall. I closed the garage door and headed into the house. I called Daddy to let him know that we made it home safely. I set the phone back on its cradle and headed up the stairs to my room, pausing to look in Tidus' room. I smiled sadly, quietly praying that he was safe. I stepped in and turned on the light, taking a look around. I spotted some of his clothes that I had accidentally left on the floor. I scowled slightly; yes, I wanted his room to be just like he left, but I was NOT about to let dirty clothes linger on the floor for an entire year. That's where I drew the line. If he didn't like it, too bad. I picked up the clothes and threw them in the clothes hamper in my bathroom, just to give me something to do. Except for Tidus' room, the house was spotless. I must have cleaned the house about a dozen times since he left.

Satisfied with how his room looked, I left it in a lesser state of disarray. I went back to my room and noticed a letter on the dresser. "Oh, I forgot to open it. And I got it about two weeks ago." I chuckled to my self. I picked it up, sat down on the bed and finally opened the letter.

_My dearest Yuna,_

_ We made it safely to Odaiba. The plane ride was a little rough when we made our approach. We flew in under the cover of darkness, practically flying in blind. I figured that as soon as we were all off the C130 would take off again, but the pilots killed the engines. So we had extra time to get our things off the plane. So far, my office is only partially set up, and Chris and I still have to set up the supply vault. The only thing we issued was the rifles and 2 magazines each. I slept a little on the plane, but it wasn't the same as waking up in the morning and seeing your beautiful face. _

I giggled at the cheesy line, but that is one of the things that I love about that man.

_ I haven't been gone for 24 hours, and I already miss you. But enough about me. How are you? Does that house seem kind of empty all of a sudden? When I get the chance I'll call home to see how you are. So until I hear back or I call, take care._

_All my love,_

_Tidus._

It was a short letter, but that was to be expected since this was dated the day after he got there. "I'll write him a letter later tonight." I told myself as I turned n the TV. As per usual, it was on HGTV.

**Odaiba. 09:54 AM. Normal POV.**

Tidus and Chris were driving down a highway on their way to Camp Arrow in Northern Odaiba. They were the third vehicle in the convoy, behind a two and a half ton truck and a five ton truck. Each vehicle in the convoy had a driver, passenger, and a gunner, with two extra people in the Humvee, because the trucks could only accommodate three people at most whereas the Humvee could accommodate five. In Tidus' Humvee, the extra solders were Specialist Williams from Commo, Sergeant Hall from the medical section, and the gunner was Private First Class Sharp from the 1107th Military Police Platoon attached to Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

They had a portable CD player sitting between Tidus, who was driving and Chris, who was helping keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The current song that was playing was Rockstar by Nickelback. Everybody was singing along, with Sharp singing the deep part.

Tidus sang, "I'm through standing in line to clubs I'll never get in. It's like the bottom of the ninth and I'm never gonna win, this life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be." and he propped his arm up on the armrest on the door, almost like he was disgruntled.

PFC Sharp said in a deep voice, "Tell me what you want."

Specialist Williams sang "I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs and a bathroom I can play baseball in, and a king size tub for ten plus me."

Once again Sharp sang, "Yeah? So whatcha need?"

Sergeant Hall Chimed in with, "I'll need a credit card that's got no limit and a big black jet with a bedroom in it. Gonna join the Mile High Club at thirty seven thousand feet."

"Been there, Done that." sang Sharp, waving his hand.

Chris picked up the next line. "I want a new tuned bus full of old guitars, my own star on the Zanarkand Boulevard, somewhere between Cher and James Dean is fine for me."

"So how ya gonna do it?"

Everybody sang, "I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame, I'd even cut my hair and change my name. Cause we all just wanna be big rock stars livin' in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars. The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap. We'll all stay skinny cause we just won't eat. And we'll hang-" but they were cut short from the fun they were having.

There was a deafening bang, and the vehicle was thrown suddenly,and the sound of scraping metal on pavement could be heard. Tidus blacked out, and when he came to he noticed that the Humvee was laying on its roof in a ditch on the other side of the four lane road they had been traveling on. He looked around, trying to figure out what happened when he saw a red substance on the front of his uniform.

_Ugh, what the hell happened? _He wondered. He looked at his best friend and battle buddy so see if he knew, but found him unresponsive, with the same red substance on him. Intuition told him that it was blood. "Chris?" he called. "Chris! Sharp?" he asked looking behind him where Sharp had been earlier.

There was no Private First Class Sharp, nor was Specialist Williams in the vehicle. Adrenalin kicked in. He checked Chris' pulse and barely found one. But one was there. "Oh shit. Hang in there buddy. Hall, can you try to stabilize Chris?" He waited for a response. "Hall?" he asked, turning his head to look at the other Sergeant. All he saw was Hall's lifeless body.

Chris had started to stir. "W-what happened Sarge?" he asked weakly. "Why are we hanging upside down?"

"No idea. I'm going to get you down." Tidus undid his seatbelt and dropped to what was now the floor. He crawled over to Chris, supported his body and helped him to the ground as he undid the seatbelt.

"My head. It hurts." said Chris, still weak.

"You probably hit your head. Everything's going to be all right."

Chris smiled weakly and said, "Tell Amy I love her."

"Hey don't say that. You're going to be alright. Remember, you two are getting married as soon as we get back to Spira." He then grabbed the radio mike and said, "This is HQ 4,medevac, medevac, medevac. We have casualties and a man down."

Chris didn't respond. Tidus didn't know if he heard him or not. Tidus pulled Chris out of the overturned vehicle and laid him against the side. Chris' head hung low, almost like he was sleeping. Tidus prayed that he was just unconscious. As he straightened up to see where help was, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his shoulder, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of AK47 gunfire. "I need a medic over here, we got a soldier down!" yelled Tidus. Shielding Chris with his body, Tidus grabbed his M16 assault rifle, set the function to full-auto, and returned fire one handed, setting the hand guard of his assault rifle on a nearby concrete barrier. Several more soldiers joined him at his side and provided cover fire as a team of medics came and took Chris away on a stretcher. Tidus yelled "Fire left, fire left!"

Tidus knew better than to run at the enemy, that was suicidal. _Besides,_ he thought,_ I'm about to be a father soon. Yuna would kill me if I didn't return home to help her take care of the baby._

"Sergeant, you're bleeding!" said Specialist Williams.

Shuyin hollered from the other side of the vehicle, where he was taking cover. "Tidus. Let the medics take you back to Base to get patched up. It won't do any of us any good if you bleed to death."

"Does it look like I give a fuck right now? They shot at us, Chris is injured, and I'll be damned if I just lay here and let them get away with this!" Tidus yelled at him.

"Yevon dammit Tidus! That's a Yevon damn order!" The Company Commander yelled. Tidus stopped firing, and collapsed.

**A while later, back in Camp Talon Medical building. Tidus' POV**

I awoke with a headache from hell. At first, things were fuzzy. I could see people in white coats wandering about, but I couldn't tell any faces. I started to move my right arm to shield my face from the light, but could barely feel it. I looked to my right and saw that it was wrapped and in a sling. On the bed next to me I saw a figure. It was the same shape as a person, but it was all white. A woman with short black hair walked up and checked my pulse. She turned and said to someone, "Doctor, he's awake."

I noticed things start to go dark, and wondered what the hell was going on. Why was I in the hospital? When the doctor came up, I asked.

"Your convoy was attacked by a group of insurgents operating in that area. Your vehicle was hit by an IED. **(Author's note: Improvised Explosive Device. Also known as a roadside bomb.)** Here in a few hours, you are being taken by a military jet to Bevelle." he said. After that, my head fell back onto the pillow and everything went black.

**Besaid. Yuna's POV.**

The phone rang around eleven thirty in the evening. I had dosed off watching some movie. It had ended a while ago and infomercials about spray on hair was playing. I looked at the caller ID, wondering who could be calling this late and saw the now familiar DOD. I grabbed the phone and answered excitedly.

"Hey sweetheart." I said, grinning that my fiancé had finally gotten to call me back. "I've got some great news."

The voice on the other end of the phone cleared his throat. "What's wrong baby?" I asked.

"_Lady Yuna, this is Shuyin._" said the person on the other end of the line.

Then it was like I hit right in the chest, knocking the wind out of me. I knew something wasn't right, though I didn't know what. I just had to ask.

"What happened exactly?"

Shuyin took a deep breath and said, "_On our way to Camp Arrowhead, the convoy came under attack. Tidus' Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb and flipped._"

I took a sharp breath, expecting to hear the words that no one wants to hear.

"_The vehicle rolled into the ditch on the other side of the road. When our medics got there they found one fatality-_" tears started to fall at those words. I knew it was him. "_and Tidus crawling out of the vehicle pulling Chris. Using his body as a shield for Chris, Tidus took a bullet and promptly returned fire. Tidus collapsed as the adrenalin wore off and was brought to the hospital on base. He is stable, but we are sending him to a military hospital in Spira._"

That got my hopes up. "Which one?" I asked as tears flowed.

"_I'm sorry Lady Yuna, but I don't know. If I find anything out, I'll let you know._" he said gravely.

"Call Daddy's. I-I'll be over there." I said as I willed my self not to break down. "Thank you Shuyin."

"_Anytime. Goodnight._" he said before he hung up.

_He'll be ok, I just know it. Yevon PLEASE don't make me wrong. I don't know what I would do without him. _I told myself, before picking up my car keys and heading for the garage. I got in my BMW and headed straight for Bevelle. I cried the whole way there.

When I arrived at the house I saw mom and Daddy's bedroom light on, as well as the living room and parlor lights on. They must have seen me pull into the driveway, because just as I was getting out of the car, Daddy was standing in the front doorway, looking concerned.

"Yuna? Is everything ok?" he asked. All I did was run up to him sobbing. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's T-Tidus Daddy. He's b-been injured in Odaiba." I said as I broke down, sobbing hysterically.


	8. Every Hurricane has an Eye

**Hey guys, i'm back with the next installment of A World Away! Don't worry about the note I made in my profile about posting Chapter 8 around the 27th of June. This is why i don't do deadlines. I'm either way early or way late.**

**Sahra-chan: Would you like a gold star?**

**SGT Tidus: No, but some Jager Bombs would be nice... Anyway on with the chapter! at the end of this chapter i will explain to the best of my knowledge what happenes at the end of it.**

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**Chapter 8: Every Hurricane has an Eye**

**Lenne's POV**

I was just thinking about heading to bed when the telephone rang. I knew it had to be Shuyin, as he was the only one who called at this hour. I had just seen the news bulletin and was curious to know what my husband knew.

"Hello?" I asked.

"_Hey sweetheart. How are you?_"

"I think the more important question is how are you? You've been through a lot today."

"_Not near as much as Tidus. He's still awaiting transport back to Spira. Rumor has it, Braska is talking to the powers that be." _he sighed.

"Hm, I haven't heard from Yuna about that. How did she handle it?" I asked, remembering that one of Shuyin's jobs as an officer is to inform loved ones when a soldier is wounded or worse in combat.

"_Oh Yevon. At first she was so excited to get a call. Then she just broke down. I tried to find the words to soften this, I really did honey, but in the end I couldn't. I still don't want to believe that he could die. We also lost Chris and Daniel."_

"If we know that man like I think we do, he won't. Have you informed their loved ones?"

_"I have. Amy couldn't handle it. She'll really be in for a shock when the Official Party gets there to go over Chris' will and burial plans. I hope we don't have to do that to Yuna."_

"You won't. Just have faith dear."

My husband gave a soft chuckle._"I knew there was a reason I married you. You still look on the bright side of things."_

"No, _I_ married _you_. You just asked me to." I replied with a smile "Get some sleep dear. You're stressed, go to bed."

Shuyin sighed and finally said _"All right. Goodnight honey."_

"Goodnight dear. Oh and Shuyin?"

_"Yes?"_

"Your ass is still mine when you get home." I said playfully.

Shuyin laughed and said, "_If Braska doesn't kill me first. Goodnight honey."_

"Goodnight dear." I said as I set the phone back on it's cradle. _I'll stop by Bevelle Manor on my way to town tomorrow. Yuna might appreciate the company. _I thought as I crawled into the king size bed and snuggled under the covers.

**Yuna's POV**

Daddy helped me inside because I was crying so hard. I failed in attempt to ebb the flowing tears.

"Would you like some tea honey?" asked mom as she got up from the couch. All I did was nod my head and continue sobbing.

Mom took off for the kitchen as Daddy led me to the couch. I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest, burying my face. All that could be heard was the soft _tick tock_ of the grandfather clock in the corner and my stifled sobs.

After a few minutes, mom brought me my tea, which was my favorite Earl Grey. "Here you go sweetheart." she said sweetly. I looked up and took it, noticing Daddy standing at the fireplace gazing at the dancing flames.

"Did Shuyin mention where they were sending Tidus?" mom asked.

"All I know is that they were flying him back to Spira on a military jet." I sniffed. "Daddy, is there _any_ way we can get him sent to Bevelle?" I asked, looking up at my father.

Daddy straightened up, and still looking in the fire said thoughtfully, "Good idea." Then he turned and went into his home office, closing the door behind him.

Mom turned the TV on to a local channel. A nature program was playing, talking about how Lake Macalania was made. The program was cut short as a news bulletin broke in.

_"Good evening, I'm Shelinda with breaking news. Earlier today Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the Third Battalion in the One Thirty Fifth Aviation Theater Air Battalion was attacked while on a supply run to Camp Arrowhead in northern Odaiba._

I gasped at the news, remembering that it must have been my fiancé's unit. "Mom, turn it up." I asked. "I want to know who was hurt."

Mom turned up the volume as Shelinda continued.

_"The seven vehicle convoy was passing through a rural area about seventy five miles from Camp Arrowhead when the attack happened. An Improvised Explosive Device, or IED, is believed to have caused injury to three soldiers, fatally wounding another two who were in the same vehicle. The names of the fallen have not been released by the Department of Defense pending notification of next of kin."_

I prayed that I wasn't one of the next of kin needing notification.

_"Of the three wounded, two were slightly injured, suffering only minor cuts and scrapes. The third, Sergeant Tidus Williams, was taken back to Camp Talon. According to a DOD release on the incident, Sergeant Williams used his body as a shield in attempt to save the life of another soldier. Williams returned fire on insurgents who had opened fire on the crew after his vehicle had overturned, eventually collapsing and was taken back to base. He is engaged to the Gullwing's Yuna Higurashi, who herself is the daughter of the Grand Maester of Yevon, Braska Higurashi. Our condolences to Yuna and her family. We will have more on this tragic event tomorrow morning. This is Shelinda with Chanel Five News."_

I completely lost all control of emotion at those words. My hot tea fell from my shaking hands and clattered to the floor as mom wrapped her arms around me. My fiancé's life was hanging by a thread, I just knew it. _Tidus, please, PLEASE come home alive. If I lose you, I'll never be the same. _I thought.

I could hear muffled yelling coming from Daddy's office. Something hit what sounded like wood. Mom smiled and said, "Sounds like your father will be busy for a while. Why don't you go to bed dear? Your bedroom is still the same as when you and Tidus moved to Besaid." She then got up and moved towards the kitchen and came back with some paper towels to clean up the spilled tea.

I sighed. "Alright mom. I'll try to get some sleep. Do you need me to get that? I made the mess."

"Don't worry about it dear. I can handle it. Just go take a hot shower and get some sleep." mom replied with a smile.

I climbed up the staircase and tuned down the hall to the last room on the right. I opened the door and turned on the light. My room was just as I left it the day I moved to Besaid. The queen sized bed was made using oak wood, and had my cerulean blue bedspread with matching pillow cases on it.

They were the same shade as Tidus' eyes. In high school, that's what attracted me to him. It wasn't the fact that he was the most popular jock or the fact that he was the biggest flirt, but the way he made my heart melt when I looked into those soft blue eyes so full of love. A look I might never get to see again.

I shook my head vigorously as tears threatened to fall again. I had to distract myself. I noticed the old jewelry box still sitting next to my bed, just as it had been for ten years. I opened it, looking at the necklaces hanging in there and pulled at the tab on the bottom to expose what few rings I had. Instead of rings, I found a note Tidus had written to me while we were still in high school. It was the first note he ever wrote me.

_Yuna,_

_You were great at that concert. Your voice is sweeter than the Fayth singing their hymn. When will you be home from that trip to Macalania with your dad? I'll really miss that pretty face. You have an aura about you that makes me feel comfortable. I don't know what it is, but it must be love. I await your favorable reply to the dance next Friday after the Blitzball game against the Goers._

_Tidus._

_P.S. I'll pick you up at 6._

He had slipped it in my locker the morning after I went with the school's choir to a competition in Luca. We had won, of course. We weren't dating at that point. He asked me out later that day. It was so cute the way he stuttered. It took him a full five minutes before he finally asked the question.

_Now I may never get to hear him stutter again. _I thought as I sat down on the bed a began to cry again. Then there was a soft knock on my door. "C-come in." I said as I wiped the tears away.

"Hey sweetheart, I just wanted to see how you were." said Daddy as he walked in the door and sat down on the bed beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"What do you think? I'm a mess!" I replied distastefully.

"Well, I thought you might like to know that Tidus is on his way back to Spira as we speak. He's in critical condition, but he's stable for the time being."

"Thanks Daddy. Where are they taking him?

"They're bringing him to Bevelle International, where they will transfer him from the medical jet to an awaiting helicopter to take him to Bevelle Memorial. We'll be able to see him around 2pm. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow is a busy day." he said as he got up and moved for the door.

"Alright. But he is alive right?" I asked, seeking confirmation.

"Yes sweetheart. He is very much alive. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Daddy." I said as the door closed with a soft snap. I changed into my night clothes, crawled into bed, turned off the light and lay there thinking.

_What will I do if I lose you? I can't raise a baby on my own. Please, baby, be alive when I get there. If you're not, the baby and I will meet you on the Farplane shortly._

**Odaiba, Normal POV. Final formation for the day.**

The first Sergeant was standing at the front of the formation for HHC. The mood was somber as he began calling off the names of the soldiers in the unit.

"Sergeant O'Connor."

"Here." came O'Connor's voice from the first rank.

"PFC Hunt."

"Here." came Hunt's voice from the second rank.

"Sergeant Williams."

"On a medical transport back to Spira." said Shuyin.

"Thank you sir." said Nooj. He continued taking roll. "Specialist Williams."

"Here First Sergeant."

"PFC Marion."

There was no response. Specialist Williams bit his lip as the First Sergeant continued with roll call. When he was done, he went back to Chris' and Sergeant Head's names.

"PFC Marion."

Again, there was no response from HHC as to the whereabouts of Chris or Head.

Private First Class Marion." said Nooj, his voice slightly heavier.

"Private First Class Christopher Marion." That had done it. Nooj's voice finally cracked as he called of Chris' name. Military taps began to play as HHC observed a moment of silence for the fallen soldiers. Some even shed a few tears for their brothers in arms, especially Specialist Williams who was Chris' roommate.

After their moment of silence, the First Sergeant called the units Chaplain, Lieutenant Machen to the front of the formation.

"Friends," he began, "do not grieve for the fallen. They have given their all for what they believe in. instead of thinking that they are gone forever, think that we will meet them on the Farplane if we follow the teachings of Yevon. This is not goodbye Chris or goodbye Daniel, but a we'll see you later. Trust in Yevon, and we shall see them again."

"Thank you Sir for those words of guidance. On a happier note, Sergeant Williams is on his way back to Spira as we speak. We don't know of his condition, but we will be informed by Braska himself. Other than that, company attention."

The company went to the position of attention.

"Dismissed." the company was released for the day, free to do what they wanted, within certain guidelines.

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**A/N: Ok guys, what just happened is referred to Final Call. during the last formation for the day, if there was a fatality while in combat, final call is done during role call. Final Call for a fallen soldieris one of the hardest things to hear. i've talked to several Company Commanders and First Seargeants and each one of them said its hard to do with out your voice cracking. one of them was a First Sergeant for over 9 years! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I will do my best to answer them.**

**R&R please!**


	9. Don't Stop Believing

**Hey guys, here's the next installment of A World Away, Don't Stop Believing! I pondered for a week on the title, trying out different ones to see which one fit. I was listening to my Journey: Greatest Hits cd and tried this title out. i was surprised that it tied with a conversation that appears a little later in this chapter. then a friend of mine told me that all of my titles tie in with the chapter, whether it be a saying or an event.**

**So a BIG thank you to FantasyGoddess89. I dont know Lulu's personality very well. She filled in the gaps.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 9: Don't Stop Believing**

**Yuna's POV**

After a restless nights sleep, I went downstairs to the dining room where mom was cooking breakfast. I walked over to the coffee pot and poured a cup of coffee before adding a little bit of half and half creamer and a teaspoon of sugar.

"Good morning sweetheart. Were you able to get any rest?" asked mom as I sat down at the breakfast bar.

"Fuck no." I replied distastefully. I saw Daddy fold his newspaper down halfway and cock an eyebrow at me. The look on his face reminded me of when I turned sixteen and back talked to mom when she wouldn't let me go out with Lulu, Rikku and Paine one night.

"Young lady, don't let me hear you talking to your mother like that." Daddy said that night. All I did after that was stomp back up the stars and slam the door to my room closed.

Daddy didn't say anything this time, I guess he understood the situation. So I sighed and said, "I'm sorry mom. I haven't gotten much sleep lately, and being pregnant, I get a little cranky."

"Don't worry about it, Yuna. I know you're stressed and Yevon only knows what else." she replied as she turned the bacon. " But, you do need to get a handle on your stress, or you could lose the baby."

For some reason, the smell turned my stomach. Bad. I got up from my seat and ran for the bathroom and threw up. Luckily, I made it to the toilet just in time.

"Aw man. I think morning sickness just hit. Dammit Tidus, why didn't you use a condom?" I asked myself. I knew the answer though; I asked him not to.

I came back out of the bathroom as mom was putting breakfast on a plate. It was simple, just scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, and toast with blackberry jam, my favorite.

"Morning sickness?" asked mom.

"Yeah." I replied. "How long did you have it when you were pregnant with me?"

"The whole pregnancy." she commented as I started on my eggs.

"I had to pull the car over several times on our way to Bikanel when we went to see your uncle. I thought we would never make it." said Daddy as he joined me at the bar. "You were born a week and one day after we returned home."

"I woke your father up in the early morning and told him it's time. In twenty five years I have never seen that man bolt out of bed and get everything ready for our trip to the hospital." said mom with a smile. "There was one time he nearly moved that fast."

"I think it was when you fell down the stairs when you were about two years old." he said with a smile.

"Now I get to look forward to it. I just hope Tidus will be here when the baby's born." I said as I took a sip of coffee. Breakfast went alright until the doorbell rang as mom and I were cleaning up the kitchen.

"I'll get it." said Daddy as he moved towards the door. "Hi Lenne. What brings you here today?"

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and thought I should stop by and see how Yuna was. Shuyin told me about the conversation." she said from the parlor.

"Well come in, come in. Yuna's in the kitchen helping her mother with the dishes." he said as the door closed.

Shortly after that Lenne walked into the kitchen. She was wearing an ocean blue summer dress and matching lace up sandals. She also had on a pair of diamond stud earrings that sparkled in the sunlight. She took one look at me and smiled.

"Did you get up late Yuna?" she asked, commenting on my morning attire. I had on my favorite choccobo sleep pants and one of Tidus' t-shirts.

"No not really. I got up about 9 o'clock." I said. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven. How's Tidus?" Lenne inquired.

"He's on a medical flight to Bevelle. He should be here in a... few... hours." I trailed off before realizing that I needed to change, get a shower and put my clothes back in my duffel bag. "Oh Yevon! I've got to get ready!" I said as I bolted from the kitchen and up the stairs to my room.

Lenne, mom and Daddy just looked at each other shaking their heads and smiling.

"She hasn't changed a bit since she went on her first date with that boy." said mom with a smirk.

"At least he'll treat her better than Seymour. If he pulls through that is." said Daddy.

**Thirty Minutes Later**

I was in my room searching frantically for my sapphire earrings that Tidus had bought me for Christmas our senior year. I had on black slacks with black flats and a white tank top that tied behind my neck with a little hood and a deep neckline that reached almost all the way to my navel. It also had the Zanarkand Abes mark in the center. "Ooh, I know I took them off here last night. Where are they?" I asked no one in particular.

"Have you checked in the bathroom?" asked Lenne standing in my doorway. "That's where I usually leave mine."

"Oh, thanks Lenne." I said as I took off for the bathroom. Sure enough, that where my earrings were, laying right next to the sink. "Lately it seems like I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached." I said with a sigh.

"Stress can do that to you." said the brunette with a smile. "After Shuyin deployed the first time, I was so lost I didn't even sleep in our bed for a few months."

"Tidus and I have separate rooms. It's still hard to go in there since he left." I said sadly.

"Try sleeping with your husband for a year and a half and then him going away to war, hon." she said.

She was right. I was so caught up in my despair that, once again, I forgot to consider how others must feel. _That's a habit I need to quit. _I told myself mentally.

I put my earrings in and gathered my clothes together and put them in my duffel bag. I made sure I had my cell, but I'd probably leave it in the limo because they say that cell phone waves interfere with certain kinds of medical equipment. I hoped that Tidus wasn't hooked up to that kind.

"Do you have everything?" asked Lenne.

"Except my head, I think so." I replied with a grin. Lenne just chuckled.

As we descended the stairs, my cell rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"_Hello, Yuna._" said the girl on the other end of the line.

"Oh, hi Lulu. How are you doing?"

"_I'm doing alright, but I was more worried about you._" she said. "_I just saw the bulletin on the morning news. How's Tidus?_"

That ruined what little bit of a good mood I had built up. Lenne must have read it on my face, because she looked at me concerned.

"All we know at this point is that he's still alive. Last night, Daddy said he was in critical condition, but he's stable."

"_Oh Yevon, I'm so sorry. But one thing you need to remember, Yuna, is he's a soldier. You need to be a soldier over your emotions. I know you're hurting inside and sick with worry, but you need to be strong. The love for each other that you two share is strong and Tidus is at his weakest. You need to be strong for the both of you._

"But I don't know how. With him gone I could barely walk by his room without wanting to cry." I responded, wanting to let the tears fall as I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

But I knew Lulu was right, I needed to be strong. Me being strong or not could very well mean the difference between life and death for my fiancé. Maybe I enjoyed being miserable. Maybe I just wanted sympathy.

"_Tidus will be alright. He's going to Bevelle Memorial right?_"

"Yes. Daddy said we should be able to get to see him at about 2 pm."

"_They have good doctors there. Wakka went there when he got injured in a Blitzball match with the Al Bhed Psyches. Although it is a totally different situation, I believe Tidus will be in the best of care._"

"He will be. They have the best trauma ward in the nation."

"_See? Just like I said. We'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers. Keep me informed on Tidus and remember to trust in Yevon. Okay?_"

"I will. Thanks for the support Lulu." she was always able to help me keep from losing all control of my emotions. Other than Tidus, that is.

"_Goodbye Yuna._" she said before she hung up.

"Everything alright Yuna?" asked Lenne.

"Hm? Oh, yes. Everything's fine now. Just thinking about what Lulu told me." I replied, snapping out of my trance.

"What did she say?"

"She said that the love we have for each other is strong, and Tidus is at his weakest and that I need to be strong for the both of us." I stated as I continued down the stairs. Mom and Daddy were waiting in the front room. The door was open and I saw the Rolls Royce parked in front of the house, with the passenger side rear door open and the driver waiting patiently by it.

"She's right you know. Plus, its not good for the baby if you're always stressing and worrying. You could have a miscarriage." Lenne advised.

"Yeah, I know. Mom already told me that." I replied.

"And you should listen to your mother. There's a reason Yevon gave us parents; to steer us in the right direction as we grow up. Now, load up. We should be able to see Tidus shortly after we get there." said Daddy as we reached the landing. We then headed for the limo and slid in on the cream colored leather seats one by one. The driver (I forgot his name) closed the door with a soft snap and started the car. Daddy, who was on the seat running along the driver's side of the vehicle and was sitting next to mom, leaned over, rolled down the window separating the driver from the occupants and whispered some directions to the driver.

"Yes, sir." was his reply as Daddy leaned back in his seat.

"What did you tell him dear?" asked mom.

"A shortcut, so we don't get caught in lunch hour traffic." He then pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "What room is he in Lucil?" He paused as Lucil, his secretary I assume, told him what he wanted to know. "Alright, thank you. Hold all my calls and I might be in in the morning." Closing his phone he turned his attention to us and said; "He's still critical. They have him hooked up to a feeding tube, intravenous fluids and a respirator." he paused and looked at me. I could feel his gaze and could see the look on his face out of the corner of my eye. I did not look back at him. I just continued to stare out the tinted windows with my chin rested in the palm of my had. I had a feeling what was coming next.

Daddy took a deep breath and continued. "Yuna, I know you might not want to hear this, but they have given him anywhere from twenty four to seventy two hours to live. They are running some tests to see if he will improve"

At those words, my eyes teared up and I broke down. I cried so hard my body ached. "No... nooooo!" I wailed, burying my face in my hands.

Lenne laid her hand on my shoulder and I jerked it away. _That's it. When you finally pass on the baby and I will meet you shortly after. _I thought. I noticed the widow between the driver and us was still down. "Step on it! I want to get there before he d-dies."

"Ma'am, I can't go over the speed limit, but your father told me which route to take. We will be there in about twenty minutes." the driver replied.

"Yuna, sweetheart, calm down. We don't even know if he will die." said mom. "Didn't Lulu just say that you need to be strong for the both of you?"

I didn't want to believe that he really was in such a bad state that the doctors wouldn't expect my fiancé to survive after the next few days.

"That's right Yuna. And we're all here for you. We won't let you deal with this alone." added Lenne. Those words helped me feel a little better, but my mind was made up. I wouldn't go on living without Tidus.

I cried softly all the way to Bevelle Memorial when the driver pulled up to the main entrance. As soon as he opened the door I stepped out and made for the door, hardly waiting for mom, Daddy and Lenne. People moved out of our way as we came through the sliding doors. I stopped at the information desk and asked where the intensive care unit was. The lady told me and we headed for the elevator.

As the doors opened on the eighth floor, we got out and headed in.

A blonde haired girl behind the desk asked, "How can I help you today?"

"I'm here to see Tidus Williams please."

"Are you family?"

"We're engaged."

"I'm sorry miss, but only immediate family is allowed to see the patients." she responded. That pissed me off.

"Look, bitch, do you even know who I am? I'm Yuna Higurashi, the High Summoner's only daughter. Tidus is my fiancé and the father of our unborn child. Now if you value your job, take me to see my fiancé, or you won't get to come in tomorrow!" I yelled. A couple of people in the waiting room looked at us, but I didn't care. Mom, Daddy and Lenne looked appalled at my outburst.

The nurse was visibly taken aback. _Good, maybe now I can see him before he dies. _I thought.

"Y-yes m-ma'am. I'll take you to see him right away." she stuttered as she slid her chair back, got up and led us to his room.

When she opened the door I saw him laying in a hospital bed hooked up to EKGs and various other equipment. He also looked like he was sleeping. I walked over to him and brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes.

"Miss, please don't disturb the patient." said the nurse.

My shoulders tensed, but Lenne told her, "I wouldn't if I were you. She might make good on her promise."

The nurse must have caught my drift. I had the power to get someone canned, but this was the first time I had ever used it.

I gently stroked the side of my fiancé's face. Whether it was my touch or just coincidence, he stirred.

He opened those soft blue eyes that I loved so much, and looked straight into mine. With tears sparkling in my eyes, I smiled and asked "Are you alright sweetheart?"

"Yes, but who are you?" he said.

Those words made my whole world shatter. _He... doesn't remember me?_ I thought as my smile fell. Turned to the nurse and screamed "Why in the name of Yevon doesn't he remember me?! We've shared the past several years together! I want some answers, and I want them now!!"

"He has a concussion and may not remember some things." replied the nurse in a small voice.

I turned my attention back to my fiance. He looked at me with questioning eyes.

"It's me sweetheart, Yuna. We're engaged to be married later this year."

"Now I remember where I've seen you. Ive seen you around Zanarkand A East. If I remember correctly, we have Spirian History together. I've always had a crush on you, but I didn't expect to be getting married until I was in my twenties."

I paused for a moment before saying, " We've been together since our junior year. That was four years ago."

"Where am I?" my love inquired.

"You're in the ICU at Bevelle Memorial Hospital. The convoy you were riding in was hit by and IED and flipped in Odaiba."

"What was I dong there?"

"You were deployed with your National Guard unit."

"I'm in the National Guard? Wow." he looked around. "Hi Lenne. What are you doing here?"

"Yuna asked me to come with her. She was worried sick while you were gone. Hell, we all were." she said.

"How long was I gone?"

"A little over a month." I said.

"... and why was my unit over there?" he asked.

"Spira has been at war with Odaiba for almost two years." said Daddy. Tidus turned his head and paled a little.

"S-sir... I..." he stuttered.

Daddy smiled and said, "No need for explanations concerning you and my daughter. All you need to worry about is getting better. You need to be around to raise my grandchildren."

Tidus looked at me and inquired "What is your father talking about?"

"I wanted to tell you, but not like this. I- I'm pregnant." I stammered, tears sparkling in my eyes.

"I see. How far along are you?"

"A month or two." I said quietly. _Why did Daddy open his mouth about the baby? I wanted Tidus to recover somewhat before telling him._ I thought, throwing a glare towards my father.

Tidus looked like he was getting sleepy. His eyes started to close and his breathing slowed slightly.

"Get some rest sweetheart. I'll be here when you wake up." I said as I kissed him on the lips.

Then, everything went haywire. First there was a high pitched beeping, accompanied by a lower pitched beep. The nurse rushed over and checked his pulse, turned white and hit the nurse call button on the bed.

_"Yes?"_

"Room 803, Code Blue! I need jumpers in here stat!" she said as she undid the heart monitor and oxygen supply.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" I asked, panicking. "Tidus, wake up. Please baby wake up." I began to cry, clinging onto my fiancé.

A team of doctors and nurses rushed in. "Will someone get her out of here?" the blonde haired nurse yelled above my wails.

"Miss, I'm sorry but you all need to leave." said a security guard who happened to come along with the medical team.

"No, I can't leave him." I cried as he picked me up and carried me out of the room, kicking and thrashing. " Tidus, wake up! Please!"

After the security guard took me out into the hall and released me, I pounded on the door as I sank to the floor sobbing. Lenne helped me stand and walk over to a chair. My world had just slipped from me.

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**Well, that's chapter 9. Since reviews aren' comming in as fast as they could, i am currently working on 2 chapter 10s. one will continue the story, one will end it. Sooo, if you want the story to continue, i suggest you review, get you friends to review, whatever. i really don't want to end it, but i might. let's keep everyone happy and just click on the 'Submit Review' button.**

**August 3, 2009- im at the airport to go to Virginia for training. How often i will have acess to the internet, I don't know. but i will update when i can. I'm still writing chapter 10, so y'all better start worrying.**


	10. Heaven

**Hey guys, I'm back with another installment of A World Away! Since multiple reviews have come in, i have decided to carry on the story. of course, i was planning on doing that anyways. LOL! I'm currently in Virginia attending school for the National Guard. the only thing to do on this crappy post is write, sleep, go to class and not go through what we went through with chapter 9 again, i really like the reviews. Anyways, on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anythig related to Final Fantasy X in any way, shape form or fashion. i only own the last names (excluding PFC Chris Marrion's) I also do not own the rights to any song that shows up in this story. they belong to their respective artists, producers etc. if i did, i would probably not waste time writing fanfics when i could have them published for money.**

**Thank You's: a BIG thank you to FantasyGoddess89. she helped out quite a bit with this chapter. also, a big thank you to all those who reviwed.**

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Chapter 10: Heaven

**Lenne's POV**

Oh my Yevon, I had never been there when somebody died. I had heard about what it's like watching somebody die, but I've never experienced it.

Yuna was a complete mess. I mean, I didn't expect her to be happy that her fiancé just died, but she was really taking it hard. _She's heartbroken. _I thought to myself.

"He's dead, he's dead," she kept saying over and over. Her father and mother had wrapped her in a hug and were all crying. Her mother kept telling her "everything would be okay."

Braska pulled out his cell and I'm guessing called his office at the palace. "Lucil, it's me. Tidus just died, but the doctors are working to resuscitate him. I wont be in for the next couple of days." His voice sounded hollow. I could tell it hit him hard too.

Braska was a man of little emotion when he was conducting business. It wasn't hard to tell that he was concerned about Tidus, he just had almost no facial expression most of the time. You could see it in his eyes.

"I pulled out my cell and dialed Shuyin. It rang a couple of times before someone answered.

"_HHC third of-_" he started to say, but I cut him off.

"This is Lenne, I need to talk to my husband now! It's an emergency." I said urgently.

"_Yes ma'am. Hold on one second._" the soldier then put me on hold.

"_Hello?_" came the voice of my husband. I figured I must have woken him up because he sounded sleepy.

"Oh my Yevon Shuyin. Tidus is dead." I said softly as my voice began to quiver so Yuna wouldn't hear me.

"_Oh Yevon no. How is Yuna doing?_" he asked.

"Not well. Her and her parents, they're taking it hard, but not as hard as Yuna. She keeps breaking from them and pounding on the door. I'm here on her request." I said as I shed a few tears. Tidus and Yuna have been my friends since my sophomore year of high school. Tidus had introduced me to Shuyin that year and in return I introduced Tidus to Yuna our junior year. Now one of my closest friends was dead.

"_How long ago did he die?_" asked Shuyin. I could hear the emotion in his voice. Though, he tried to hide it.

"Only just. The doctors are trying to resuscitate him as we speak. I pray they succeed." I told him.

"_Me too. I'll inform the others at formation in the morning._"

"I'm sorry for waking you honey. I just thought you needed to know." I said.

"_Don't worry about it. Just keep me informed._" he said. "_Goodnight._"

"Goodnight." I told him before I hung up.

_I hope Tidus makes it. If he doesn't, I'm afraid Yuna may do something drastic._

**Yuna's POV**

I broke away from my parents for what seemed the hundredth time. I pressed my ear against the door, but couldn't hear anything. _This is not happening. This is all a nightmare and I'll wake up in my room at mom and Daddy's house._

But I knew better. This was no nightmare. It was all very, very real. I did the only thing I could think of; sit down and cry.

I cried and cried until I couldn't cry anymore. Then I began reminiscing.

**Yuna's memories**

_We were standing in the hallway outside my choir class.__Tidus had walked me all the way across the school on his way to his last class. I had a feeling that he was going to ask me out, but I wanted him to say it. I'm not the kind of girl to ask a guy out._

_"Um, you were great at that concert yesterday." he scratched the back of his neck. He looked so cute._

_"Thank you." I responded sweetly._ Come on and ask me out._ I thought. I never had much patience._

_"Um, I w-was curious, um, about something." he stuttered._

_"Anything."_

_"I uh, I've liked you for some time now. I was wondering, um, would you like to go to- to the homecoming dance w-with me?" _

_"I'd love to, but I get the feeling that's not all you're wanting to know." I said with a smile._

_He blushed a little. My heart did a flutter when I witnessed that._

_"W-what I meant was, w-" then, unfortunately, the accursed bell rang, signaling the start of the last class for the day._

_"Willyougooutwithme?" he blurted out._

_"I'm sorry, what was that?" stupid bell._

_"Will you go out with me?" he finally asked._

_"That would be nice." I said as I leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'll wait here for you after class. Then you can walk me to my car."_

_"Sounds like a plan." he said. He was still standing there when I tuned to head into class. I waved at him just before I shut the door._

_I ran I into choir and excitedly took my seat next to Lenne._

_"Looks like the Coreul swallowed a fish. Spill the beans Yuna." she said._

_"Do you want the long version or the short?" I asked, grinning like a mad hatter._

_"Just spill it."_

_"Well, Tidus just asked me to the Homecoming dance..." I trailed off._

_"And?"_

_"And he finally asked me out!" I squealed._

_"About time. I was getting tired of him asking me about you."_

_"Ooh, what did you tell him?" I just had to ask._

_"That you're really picky about what you want in a guy, and you have weird habits." she said with a wink._

_"Lenne! Did you really?"_

_"No. I told him you were really sweet, you like long walks on the beach, going to the movies, and camping at Macalania Spring."_

_"You know I can be a bitch after what Seymour did." I shuddered, then I smiled._

_"Oh Yevon, what now?" asked Lenne._

_"What does he like?"_

_"Blitzball, working out, working with his dad on his 69 Camaro, and dodging Donna and Leblanc."_

_"Damn, nothing in common." I was lucky enough not to have a class with them. I felt sorry for Tidus. He had three classes with them._

_"Oh he did say he wanted to move out to Besaid after graduation."_

_"So do I..."_

_When class was over I waited outside the choir room for Tidus. He was walking down the hall with a few of his teammates, and when he saw me, he broke away from them and came over to me._

_"Hey gorgeous." he said._

_"Hey yourself. Ready?"_

_"Sure." he said as we turned to head towards the cafeteria. The parking lot was located on the other side, just off from the bus circle. "You can hold my hand if you want..."_

_I giggled slightly when he blushed a little and took my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine._

_When we got near the end of the hall, he said, "Would you mind if I got a couple of things from my locker real quick?"_

_"Not at all, but isn't Donna's locker near yours?"_

_"My point exactly. Hopefully now she will leave me alone and get the hint that I'm not interested in her."_

_"That's fine, Tidy." I replied with a grin._

_He gave me a look that read 'yeah right'. Then he smiled and said "Call me anything but late for dinner." My heart melted like butter. We stopped at his locker, number 217, and he got a few books out._

_"Man, homework sucks." he whined._

_"Tell me about it. I have to write a research paper in English." I said as I looked down the hall. "Hey, don't look now, but your crush is walking down the hall."_

_"Well, I've got what I need for tonight." he said as he straightened up and closed his locker. He slipped one arm around my waist and continued, "Shall we go then?"_

_Donna stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that. She was dumbfounded. Her mouth had fallen open when Tidus put his arm around me._

_We just walked past her, ignoring her completely as we headed towards the parking lot. We chatted until he stopped by my car and when I reached for the handle, he put his hand on it to keep me from opening it. I turned and looked at him and he leaned in real close to me. I could feel his breath on my lips as he got closer until my back was up against the car door, out lips just a touch apart. I looked into his eyes so blue, my breath quickened. Then our lips touched slightly at first and then they sealed together. He caressed my face ever so softly with his hand as I slid my hands up his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. His other hand was on my waist. We kissed deeper as we melted into each other. The world faded from all view as I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his lips pressed against mine. Sparks went rolling down my spine as we continued to kiss. My heart was fluttering, I was almost out of breath. As the most blissful moment of my life came to a close, we broke apart, looking into each others eyes, he smiled, winked and let go of me._

_After the kiss, he strode for his old, beat up car that looked like it was about to fall apart. I opened up my cell and called my cousin Rikku._

_"Hey Yunie, you just get out of school?" my hyperactive cousin._

_"Yes, and you'll never guess what just happened."_

_"Lemme guess, you...fell for a total hunk?" guessed. She was good._

_"Well, you remember the guy that beat the Psyches last week?" _

_"Yeah, what about him?"_

_"He's my boyfriend." I said with a girlish giggle. _

_"NO WAY!" she exclaimed._

_"Yes way. AND he's taking me to the homecoming dance."_

**End Memory**

**Inside Room 803, Bevelle Memorial Hospital. Tidus' POV**

I woke up and saw a bunch of people standing over me. From the look of things, it seemed I was in a hospital.

"Dammit, he's not reviving." said one.

"Try the jumpers again." said another. "Clear!"

I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my chest.

"Hey, I'm not dead!" I said, but no one heard me, so I tried sitting up. What happened next was the weirdest thing to happen. When I sat up, I noticed I was still lying down, with my eyes still closed. I got up, and left my body behind. I headed for the door, thinking this was all a nightmare, and walked right through the door. _Guess this is all part of my dream._ I thought. I noticed a few people sitting next to the door, one of them was my fiancée. Her parents and Lenne were there with her.

"Yuna, he'll be okay." said Lenne.

"But its been nearly five minutes! He's dead, I just know it." my fiancée sobbed.

"Honey, i'm here, don't worry." I tried to wrap her in my arms, but went right through her.

Then I saw a tunnel with a bright light at the end of it. Intuition told me to go towards it.

As I got nearer, a voice that sounded like my dad's said, "Son, what do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to go towards that light." I responded.

"Now is not your time honey." that sounded like mom.

"Where are you guys?"

"The Farplane. Would it kill you to visit now that you're back in Spira? Besides, you got a kid to look after."

"Am I... dead?" I questioned.

"Yes and no, son." dad never made much sense. "What matters most is that you be with Yuna. She needs you son, and so does your child."

Then the light started to fade. Mom's voice said, "Go back and be with Yuna. She needs you more than we do. We'll see you again."

I felt another jolt of electricity shoot through my chest and winced in pain.

**Yuna's POV**

I focused on a memory that had always helped me cheer up when I was feeling blue. The Homecoming Dance I shared with Tidus near the end of our Senior year at Zanarkand A-East. You know the one. The one where Rikku had taken a picture of me and Tidus kissing.

The homecoming king and queen's dance.

_The principal stepped up to the microphone and tapped on it to get everyone to quiet down. Tidus was wearing a black tuxedo with a silver tie and, oh my Yevon did he look hot! I had on an elegant evening gown that was the same blue as Tidus' eyes with matching gloves that went all the way up to my forearms._

_"Alright everyone, we're about to announce this year's homecoming king and queen." He tore open the first envelope and read the name written on the card. "But first, last year's homecoming king and queen will hand off the crown to this year's selections." he paused for a moment. "Ant this year's king is... Tidus Williams!"_

_Applause and cheers rang out. Baralai clapped Tidus on the back and yelled louder than anyone else, "No surprise there. Way to go buddy!"_

_Tidus winked at me as he stood up from our table and walked to the stage, where he kneeled before last years king as he placed the crown on Tidus' head. Tidus stood as the Royal Court placed the robe on his shoulders. Now he's my king... I thought with a smile._

_"And this year's queen is... Yuna Higurashi!" the principal announced._

_I was in the middle of getting ready to take a drink when I froze as cheers and applause erupted. Probably out of respect, because I wasn't well known around school except as Tidus' girlfriend._

_"Way to go Yunie!!" yelled Rikku as she hugged me._

_Lenne grinned and yelled, "Congratulations. Go get your crown."_

_I stood up and walked towards the stage, turned and faced the crowd. The previous queen, I think her name was Sarah, the cheerleading captain, gently placed the crown on my head and hugged me. Her Royal Court handed me the scepter. I stood there smiling and waving to the crowd as my king came and asked, "May I have this dance, my lady?" with that glint in his eye that made me melt._

_"You can have all my dances," I said as I took Tidus' hand and he led me to the dance floor. The floor was empty, as part of the tradition, only the king and queen dance just after the crowning ceremony. Then a nice slow song began to play. I found out later that it was Heaven by a guy named Bryan Adams_

Oh, thinking about our younger years

There was only you and me

we were young and wild and free

Now nothing can take you away from me.

We've been down that road before

But that's over now.

You keep me coming back for more.

_Tidus leaned in close and said, "I requested this song specifically for you. This is how I feel Yuna."_

_"How did you know that I was going to become the queen?" I asked as we twirled slowly._

Baby You're all that I want

When you're lying here in my arms.

I'm finding it hard to believe

We're in heaven.

And love is all that I need

And I found it there in your heart

It isn't too hard to see

We're in heaven

_All he did was smile._

Oh, once in your life you find someone

Who will turn your world around

Bring you up when you're feeling down.

_From those words, I could see what he meant. I noticed that he seemed happier when we were together. Secretly I prayed that I could make him smile everyday from here on out._

Yeah, nothing can change what you mean to me

Oh, as much as I can say

Just hold me now

Cause our love will light the way.

And baby you're all that I want

When you're lying here in my arms.

I find it hard to believe

We're in heaven.

Yeah love is all that I need

And I found it there in your heart

It isn't too hard to see

We're in heaven

I've been waiting for so long

For something that could last

For love to come along

Now our dreams are coming true

Through the good times and the bad

Yeah, I'll be standing there by you.

"_You didn't rig the election, did you?"_

_"Would I do something like that?" He asked innocently._

And baby you're all that I want

When you're lying here in my arms.

I'm finding it hard to believe

We're in heaven.

And love is all that I need

And I found it there in your heart

It isn't too hard to see

We're in heaven

Heaven

You're all that I want

You're all that I need

_"You are my heaven Yuna. Stay with me until the end please?" he asked, his eyes so full of love that I had never seen before._

_I shook my head and said, "Not until the end... Always."_

_"Always then." he said as he pulled me close and kissed me deeply. My legs felt like they were about to give way any second. little did I know what he meant by 'always'._

When I finished remembering that wonderful memory, I got up once again and pressed my ear to the crack between the door and the doorjamb, hoping to catch something of my fiancé's condition.

Then the doorknob turned.

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**Hope you enjoyed it! i had a lot of fun writing it. (brandishes and M-16) see that little button that says 'review'? click it.**


	11. I'll Be in Your Heart

**Okay guys, here's chapter 11 of A World Away!. this chapter was not origionally in my notes, but after conferring with my editor, we decided to add a little more suspense and drama. FantasyGoddess, thanks (again) for your help. it was fun editing my own chapter after somebody wrote it. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 11: Whether We're a Room Apart or a World Away, **

**I'll Always be in Your Heart.**

**Lenne's POV**

The doorknob turned and Yuna leapt back. Breathing hard as she brought one hand up in front of her, holding it close to her heart. In her hand she was holding the charm on the necklace Tidus had given her for her birthday.

"Please tell me! Is Tidus okay? Is he alive?" Yuna asked.

The doctor smiled and said, "We were able to resuscitate him, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask that you not see him for a little while. We want to monitor him just in case there's a problem."

Yuna nodded her head as a few tears slid down her face.

Her mom asked the question that I thought Yuna would ask, though, she was upset. "How long before we can see him doctor?"

"I'd say in the next couple of hours." he looked at his watch. "It's three thirty, so why don't you all get some lunch in the cafeteria and come back at five thirty?"

"Is he going to make it?" Yuna asked.

"It's hard to say. It depends on his will to live. Does he have any family?"

"No, I'm the only one. His parents were killed in a plane crash about a year ago." she replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." and he looked it. "Your fiancé is in the best care Spira has to offer here at Bevelle Memorial. I assure you, we will take the best of care with him. If you need anything feel free to let us know."

Braska saw this as an opportunity to ask, "Yuna, would you like to come back to the house or stay here each night sweetheart?"

"I'm staying here. I won't leave him."

"I'll go tell the nurse to get a room for you. Hopefully, we can get you one near his for now."

"Is there any chance I can stay in his room?" asked Yuna.

"At this point in time, I'd have to say no. We need easy access to him in case anything goes wrong. It is likely in the next couple of days though."

Yuna turned to me and asked, "Lenne, would you mind bringing my car when you head back with mom and Daddy?"

"Sure," I replied, "I'll even stay if you want me to."

She looked at me with pleading eyes. "Would you please?"

"I'll go tell the nurse to get a room ready." said the doctor as he turned and walked away.

"Yuna, I'm your best friend. I'm not about to let you go at this alone" I said as I placed both hands on her shoulders. "I'm here for you, always. Don't forget that."

"How about you come back to the house and gather your things pumpkin. We can eat there as well. I'm not a fan of hospital food." said Braska.

"Actually, I'm not really hungry. I'll just stay here." she said as a nurse came up and told her she would be staying in one of the suites that the hospital offered on the eighth floor, the same as Tidus'.

"I'll just head to the room." said Yuna as she headed towards the room.

As we rounded the corner by the nurse's station, Yuna glanced at the blonde haired nurse as she did paperwork.

Yuna had a pained expression on her face as we walked past her. My guess was she was feeling sorry for taking out her frustration on the poor girl. Though something else seemed to be bothering her.

I was about to say something about it to Yuna when, again fiddling with the charm on her necklace, she spoke, "You know Lenne, I feel bad for the way I yelled at the nurse."

"Well, you were very upset, I'm sure she understands." I replied.

"Yeah." she sighed a heavy sigh looking pale. "At least Tidus will be okay."

**A few minutes later. Yuna's POV**

Lenne and I were walking to the room. I swallowed, feeling sick. _It's just morning sickness or the stress. _I thought.

"Lenne why don't you just go with my parents. I'll be fine." she looked at me like she didn't believe me.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied, "Don't worry. I'll see you in a while."

"Alright." she said, walking back to the elevator and getting in, leaving me by the door of the room. The elevator door closed as I swallowed again, placing my hands on my stomach. I started to walk over to the bathroom with my hand over my mouth. When I took a few steps I got very dizzy. I was breathing hard trying to walk straight.

_What's wrong with me?_ I wondered. I leaned against the wall just inside my room and started to sweat, my heartbeat rapid. I had a sudden pain shoot through the lower part of my stomach. I cringed trying to handle the pain. _I need to find a doctor._ I thought, but I could not force myself to leave the wall, I was too dizzy. Another pain shot through my stomach that brought me to my hands and knees. Then it turned into a constant pain like someone was beating on my lower stomach. I groaned in pain, but there was no one there to hear. I was in that room all alone. The hall was just as empty.

Then it felt like I was bleeding. _Oh Yevon no, the baby! _I reached up and held the necklace to bring me comfort like so many times before. Another burst of pain and I lost consciousness.

**Lenne's POV**

The elevator stopped. Getting out with Braska and Cemahla we walked towards the front doors of the hospital. _Yuna had told me to go with her parents saying that she was alright. But, she was acting weird and she looked awfully pale. Probably just the stress taking its toll on her. _I thought. Little did I know how right I was.

Walking up to the limo, I paused. _Oh Yevon, I forgot to get her keys. _I told her parents what I had forgotten and that I would be back in a moment, turned and walked back into the hospital. _At least I can check on Yuna while I'm there. _I thought as I pressed the button for the eighth floor in the elevator. The elevator stopped, the doors opened and I got out and headed for Yuna's room. As soon as I walked in I froze. There on the floor was Yuna.

"YUNA!" I screamed, running over to her. I fell to my knees beside her. "YUNA! YUNA!" I shouted, shaking her, trying to wake her up, only she wasn't waking up. "HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" I screamed and, as if by miracle, a nurse stuck her head in the door. It was the same one Yuna had screamed at, and when she saw us on the floor, she rushed in.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I don't know. I came in and found her like this. I tried to wake her, but couldn't." I replied, looking along her unconscious body I noticed she was bleeding. _Oh Yevon no, not the baby._

"I'll go get a doctor." said the nurse, who then got up and ran out the door and down the hall.

Yuna... she was pale and clammy, and she had dark circles under her eyes. I pulled out my cell and called Braska. "Braska?! It's Lenne. Get up here to Yuna's room. She's unconscious."

_"What!? We'll be right up." Click _and the phone went dead.

The nurse rushed back in ahead of a couple of paramedics with a hospital gurney. They rolled Yuna onto her back, counted to three, picked her up and placed her on the gurney. Then they raised the gurney and rolled her towards the door. Her hand slipped over the edge and her necklace fell out of her limp hand and hit the floor. I picked it up, holding it in my hand. "She must have pulled it off when she fell unconscious." I said to myself. _Oh Yevon Yuna, hold on._ I thought.

Walking out of the room, I looked down the hall to see Braska and Cemahla marching down the hall. They stopped in front of me.

"Where did they take her?" Braska barked.

"To the ER." I said. "She-" but before I could finish what I was saying, Braska turned heel and marched to the elevator. Cemahla and I ran after him. We all got into the elevator.

"What happened Lenne honey?" asked Cemahla.

"I don't know. When I walked into the room, I found her passed out on the floor. I think she might have had a miscarriage." I replied.

Cemahla gasped, bringing her hand to her heart. "Oh, Yevon, no." she said.

I looked over at Braska who was standing there stone faced, emotion clearly written on his face.

The elevator stopped and as soon as the doors were open, he shot out with me and his wife running after him again. We made it to the ER ward with Braska charging ahead with me and Cemahla in tow.

"Wheres my daughter?" he asked as he walked up to the nurses desk.

"What's her..." she started to say, but was cut short.

"Yuna Higurashi!" he barked.

"She passed out on the eighth floor and said they were bringing her here." I added.

"I'm sorry but the only information I have on her condition at the moment is what room she's in. Room 23." Braska charged off into the ER. "Sir, you cant go in there! Sir please..." the nurse pleaded. Cemahla and I took off after him.

We stopped just short of the doors. I looked down the hall to see a doctor running. He pushed past us and ran into the ER. I stood there wondering what was happening to Yuna. _What if...? No, she'll pull through. _I told myself, tears stinging my eyes at the thought. I looked over at Yuna's parents. Yevon knows what was going through their heads.

Braska was pacing up and down with his usual stone face staring at the floor as he paced. Cemahla was standing in one place with her hands over her heart, her face showed real emotion and her mouth was tightly closed, so as not to release the thousands of words going through her mind. She would not dare utter them. Just in case everything took a turn for the worst.

**Inside the ER. Yuna's POV.**

I regained consciousness and noticed a dull pain in the crook of my arm, like a needle was stuck in there. I also noticed I was laying in a bed, and not on the floor like I was earlier. Then I slowly opened my eyes an saw that I had a needle in my arm with two tubes running to it. One of them was red and the other was clear. Then I noticed about four people in the room with me. Each was saying different things.

One sounded male, I assumed was either a doctor or paramedic. Another voice, which was female said "She's coming to." I looked at where the voice had come from and noticed it was the same nurse I had yelled at when I got here. I looked around the rest of the room, my eyes burning and blurry. I noticed my stomach felt numb. I tried to ask what was wrong with me, but I could not keep my eyes open any longer. Everything faded again as I closed my eyes.

**4 Hours Later. Lenne's POV**

We were all in Yuna's suite on the eighth floor. Yuna was lying on the bed, I was sitting in one of the chairs next to her on the left, her mother was sitting on the right stroking her daughter's hair. Braska was standing at the window looking out. Rikku, who had shown up about thirty minutes after Yuna was taken to the ER was fidgeting with her braids in the chair to my left.

She had called Braska asking where they were, and rushed over here in a panic when she heard the news. After Yuna was brought to her room, she had complained about getting a speeding ticket on the way here. "Well you shouldn't have driven so fast Rikku! You know better than that!" Braska had snapped.

I looked over at Yuna, who was sound asleep. The doctor had told us after she had gotten released to a room that she had almost had a compete miscarriage, and that if they hadn't of gotten to her when they did, Yuna would have lost the baby and possibly bled to death. She and the baby were fine now, but needs to have a couple of says of bed rest. The doctor also advised not to let her get to stressed.

_Considering what's going on with Tidus right now, not getting stressed is easier said than done. _I thought to my self as I held Yuna's hand. I felt it move and looked up to see Yuna's eyes opening. I heard Rikku gasp behind me and saw Braska turn away from the window out of the corner of my eye. Cemahla smiled with tears in her eyes. Braska walked over to his wife and looked at Yuna, smiling.

"Mmmm..." Yuna groaned, opening her eyes fully, looking around. She looked at her parents, then at me, and finally at Rikku. "Rikku?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yunie!" the blonde Al Behd shrieked. She ran to hug her cousin, but I threw my arm out to stop her, which she did.

"Not now Rikku, she just woke up," I said. She pouted at me, but didn't try again.

"How are you sweetheart?" Yuna's mother asked.

"How are you feeling pumpkin?" asked her father.

"We were worried about you." I added.

"Oh Yunie... we thought we were going to lose you!" shouted Rikku.

"Rikku! Calm down, she's fine." I told the hyperactive blonde.

"What happened?" asked Yuna. Her parents and Rikku looked at me. Noticing this, Yuna also directed her gaze at me.

"Well, after I left to go with your parents, I remembered that I forgot your keys, so I came back up to your room and found you passed out on the floor. Then I called for help and they took you to the ER."

"Why?" Yuna asked. "I remember not feeling well, then my stomach hurt and..." she trailed off. Suddenly her face was racked with panic. "THE BABY!" she screamed.

"Yuna, the baby is fine, and so are you." her mother told her, stroking her arm.

"Yes, they saved you and everything is fine." I added.

"What do you mean 'saved'?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Well..." I trailed off as the doctor came in.

"Hello everyone," said the doctor, "I'm Doctor Fauen." She shook our hands. "And how are we feeling?" she asked Yuna.

"Fine I guess," she replied. "What happened?"

"Well, you almost had a complete miscarriage." Yuna gasped. "But everything is fine now and so is the baby. Praise be to Yevon that your friend found you when she did. If it would have been any later you would have most definitely lost the child and possibly bled to death." the Doctor replied.

"Is the baby going to be okay?" Yuna asked, looking calmer.

"Yes, you're both going to be just fine, but you will need bed rest for the next couple of days. And no stress."

I cringed at the 'no stress' bit. Keeping Yuna calm was not going to be easy.

"Now, you should be getting back to sleep." she said to Yuna. Addressing me, Rikku, Braska and Cemahla, she said, "everyone, let's let her rest."

Yuna's parents hugged her and her mother said, "We'll come back in a while and see you sweetheart."

"Yes we will, pumpkin. Rest well." her father added as he kissed her on her forehead.

"Yes, daddy." she replied.

Rikku, who could not hold out any longer, ran over and hugged her. "Just rest Yunie, we'll see you later."

"Thanks Rikku." replied Yuna.

"I'll be there in a second." I told them as they walked out with the doctor.

I turned to Yuna, who was staring at the ceiling with tears running down her cheeks. "Why did it have to happen this way?" she asked.

"Yuna, you're going to be fine now, so is the baby as well as Tidus. Things will only improve." I told her, though, I wasn't completely sure myself.

She smiled at me through the tears and said, "Yes, you're right. I can't let it get to me again."

I nodded and hugged her. "Just relax and get some sleep okay?"

"I will."

I started to walk out and remembered that I had her necklace in my pocket. "Oh, here's your necklace." I said as I turned around and pulled it out.

"OH!" she gasped, reaching up to touch her bare neck.

"You must have pulled it off earlier when you fell unconscious." I continued as I placed it in her hand.

She looked down at the magnificent piece of jewelry in her hands as I smiled and walked out.

**Yuna's POV**

I looked down at my necklace as I held it in my hands. Lenne told me that I must have pulled it off as I passed out. "I don't even remember that." I told myself. Everyone had left me so I could rest, but how could I? I mean, my Yevon, I had almost lost my baby. "And it's all my fault, I got so stressed out that it happened. Now I can't even go be by Tidus' side. What would he have said if I lost our child?" I wondered aloud, starting to cry. _Why did all this have to happen? _I thought. I looked back down at the necklace, smiling through the tears, remembering when Tidus had given it to me.

**Flashback**

_Tidus and I were on a wonderful day date. We were walking hand in hand passing people and shops. I rested my head on his shoulder as we walked and talked. It was two day til my birthday, April 23, and Tidus had not said a word about it. _I wonder if he forgot about it? _I thought to myself. _No, he didn't forget. _I scolded myself for even thinking so. _I bet he has a surprise planned. _I thought. "Tidus was always like that." I said out loud, smiling up at him._

_ Upon hearing me he looked down. Smiling he asked, "Tidus is always like what?" I smiled even brighter, hugging him tightly. He chuckled as he hugged me back just as tight._

_ We kept walking until I saw in a shop window the most beautiful necklace. I gasped letting go of Tidus and walked over to the shop window. _

_ I felt my fiancé come up behind me. "like that necklace?" he asked._

_ "Oh yes. Its the most beautiful one I've ever seen." I looked over at Tidus who had a funny smile on his face. I cocked an eyebrow. "What's that smile for?" I asked._

_ "Nothing." he said shaking his head, looking down and chuckling. "Come on, let's go in and look at it." he said, guiding me into the shop with his hand in the small of my back. _

_ We walked in to where the necklace was. I was in awe. It was perfect. It had a solid gold 18 inch chain, with a unique inch long charm on the end. The charm was diamond shaped and multicolored like a prism, but when you looked at it the two colors that stood out the most were green and blue. I picked up the charm in my hand and looked at it. _

_ Tidus came up behind me, resting his head on my shoulder and wrapping his arms around my waist. "It looks just like your eyes." he said. I smiled._

_ Just then the jeweler came out of the back of the store. "Can I help you with anything?" he asked._

_ "We were looking at this necklace." Tidus told him._

_ "Ahh, it is a beauty isn't it?"_

_ "Yes,it is." I breathed._

_ "would you like to try it on?" asked the jeweler._

_ "Oh, I..." I trailed off._

_ "Sure she would." answered Tidus._

_ I looked at my fiancé as the jeweler started to hand it to me, but Tidus interjected, "Please, allow me." he said._

_ I smiled ant turned away from him as he placed the necklace around my neck and latched it. It fit perfectly._

_ "It looks beautiful on you." Tidus complemented me, and I blushed._

_ "Such a unique charm." I said out loud as I looked at it in a mirror._

_ "Yes, it is." the jeweler replied. "it's a rare Macalania diamond and all the colors represent all the colors of life, from the darkest and saddest to the brightest and happiest."_

_ "That's lovely." I said turning the diamond in my hand._

_ "It also has a solid gold backing, so someone could engrave it if they chose to do so."_

_ "Well, thank you." I said taking it off._

_ "Don't you want it?" my fiancé asked as the jeweler put the necklace away._

_ I shook my head, remembering the price tag. "No,it costs too much. Besides, I have jewelry."_

_ Tidus opened his mouth like he was about to argue, but something stopped him, like he had changed his mind. "Ok, lets go." he said, taking my hand._

_ "Thank you." I told the jeweler as we walked out. He smiled and waved goodbye as we headed out the door._

**Two days later, Yuna's birthday.**

_My birthday had finally arrived and Tidus was taking me out to dinner at a five star restaurant. _I knew he didn't forget. _I thought to myself smiling. I walked out of my room all dressed up and ready to go. I had on a little black dress with black high heeled sandals. Cliché, I know. _

_ Walking down the stairs I saw Tidus standing at the bottom waiting for me. He looked so handsome in his light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway up his arms, khaki pants and black dress shoes. He smiled as I walked up next to him and put his arm out for me to take. I took his arm and we walked out the front door. We had a lovely dinner and were now walking hand in hand. _

_ As we walked, I found my self thinking about that necklace again. It was just so perfect, there was something about it that was lovely to me, possibly what it represented. _All the colors of life... _I smiled at the thought. It was so true, there were so many colors to life. _

_ I was so lost in thought that I didn't even notice that we had stopped walking. Or that Tidus was behind me with his arms wrapped around my shoulders. I snapped out of my thoughts and leaned into his embrace, sighing. Then I heard a tiny click and felt something sliding down my neck. Puzzled, I reached up and felt that necklace. _Tidus just spent twenty six hundred Gil on this?! _I thought. I turned to look at Tidus, who was smiling brightly. "Why?" was all I could ask as I once again held the charm in my hand. He just kept grinning._

_ "Turn it over." he said. I looked down at it, turning it. I gasped as what I saw engraved on the back of the gold behind the stone. _Whether we're a room apart or a world away, I'll always be in your heart. _When I finished reading it I was crying. Those were our words and they meant so much. Ever since Tidus became a soldier, the significance of those words hit me even harder._

_ I was sobbing now, looking at him. No words were needed. We embraced each other. As I closed my eyes, still hugging him, I heard him say, "Keep it close to your heart, always."_

_ "I will, always."_

**End flashback**

I was crying now, holding the necklace in my hands. "I have to be strong for Tidus and for our child." I said to myself. I put the necklace back around my neck, touching the charm one last time. "You're never coming off again." I murmured, placing both hands on my stomach. "Yes, I must be strong." I patted my stomach and left my hands there. I laid my head back on the pillow, falling into a safe and, finally, comfortable sleep.

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**Well, theres a bit of a look into Tidus and Yuna's life before the deployment. hope you all enjoyed the chapter. don't forget to review!**

**Author's Note 4/1/2010: I HAVE NOT forgotten about A World Away! I've been having problems in real life and still awaiting surgery to fix my back. I promise you, I am working on chapter 12 at this very moment, I've just hit a bit of writers block. keep checking back for more updates!  
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	12. Worth the Prize, Worth the Fight

**Hello peeps, SGTTidus and FantasyGoddess here with the next (though LONG overdue) chapter of A World Away! It took us FOREVER to finish it, but good things come to those who wait. So, without further ado, ON WITH THE STORY!**

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**Chapter 12: What's Worth the Prize is Always Worth the Fight **

**Braska's POV **

I stood in the waiting room by the window looking out, sipping on a cup of coffee from the urn in the room. Lenne, Rikku and Cemahla were sitting in some oversized plush chairs on one side of the room.

_Do we live our dreams or do we live our nightmares?_ I thought. My dream has always been for my daughter to find the one she loves, just... to be happy. My nightmares, I didn't want to think about them. Losing Yuna, Yuna losing Tidus, losing my beloved wife, Yuna losing us. All my dreams and nightmares revolved around my wife and daughter. Yuna was my world from the day she was conceived. I knew she would be special.

_What is a father's dream?_ I pondered as I looked out at the traffic below. _For his child to find happiness. That's what mine is anyway._ I took a sip of coffee. _I remember the day Yuna found out she was pregnant. _A smile played its way across my face._ She was so happy. I'm happy that she found the one that Yevon put here for her._ Then my smile faded. _Tidus isn't out of the woods yet. When Yuna showed up just after that storm my heart was breaking. The only time I had seen her cry was a month ago when he left for Odaiba. I cant believe I jumped to such a ridiculous conclusion. All that boy wants is Yuna's happiness. I pray to Yevon that he pulls through._

I looked over at my niece and Lenne, who were still sitting in the chairs off in their own worlds. I took another sip of coffee and turned my gaze to the traffic below, falling back into my thoughts once again. I sensed my wife walk up behind me. One of the benefits of a successful 25 year marriage.

**Cemahla's POV**

"What is it honey?" he asked calmly, still staring out at traffic.

"Are you alright dear?" I asked softly, gently laying a hand on my husbands shoulder.

He sighed and said quietly, "I don't... I don't know."

"Talk to me honey. I'm listening." I coaxed, squeezing his shoulder slightly.

He turned and faced me slightly, sighing again and looking over towards Lenne and our niece.

With my finger under his chin, I directed his gaze back towards me and looked deep in his eyes. "Braska?" I asked softly.

"E tuh'd ghuf tayn." he responded, shifting his eyes from my gaze.

I tilted my head, catching his gaze again. "Oac, oui tu." I said soothingly.

He sighed again, saying, "Ed'c zicd... ajanodrehk mydamo."

I placed a hand over his heart and nodded knowingly. "Uha drehk yd y desa tayn."

"Famm, Tidus, Yuna, ran sedynneyka, ran tecdnacc, dra vyld dryd e lyh'd veq ed yhosuna..." he trailed off.

"Veq fryd tayn?" I asked softly.

"Ran bnupmasc. E ymfyoc icat du syga ran bnupmasc paddan" he said sadly.

"Cra'c hud y meddma kenm yhosuna." I said gently.

"E ghuf, pid e cdemm caa ran yc uha." he responded sadly.

"Yht oui ymfyoc femm, pid oui haat du ihtancdyht dryd cra'c y ouihk fusyh huf tayn. Cra'c hud dra meddma kenm oui nasaspan." I said soothingly.

Braska looked away and remained silent for several seconds. When I directed his gaze back towards me, I noticed his eyes were sad. A lone tear made its way down his cheek. No words were needed as I understood how he was feeling. I placed my hands on either side of his face and leaned my forehead against his, looking deep in his eyes before hugging him in a comforting manner.

**Rikku's POV at the beginning of Braska and Cemalaha's conversation.**

I was sitting in the plush chair playing with my numerous braids like I always do, thinking about Yunie. Lenne was sitting in the chair next to me reading a magazine, humming softly to herself.

_ How can you be so calm while Yunie's laid up in a hospital bed?_ I thought while looking briefly at Lenne.

"I don't know dear." said Uncle Braska.

"Yes, you do." said Auntie Cemahla.

_They're talking in Al Bhed! _I thought, turning around in my chair to look at them, trying to hear more. Not breaking my stare, I poked Lenne in what I hoped was her arm.

"It's just... everything lately." sighed Uncle Braska.

Auntie Cemahla placed a hand on his chest and nodded. "One thing at a time dear."

"Lenne, Lenne" I whispered, still poking her.

She grumbled, but didn't reply. I was gonna have to take drastic measures to get her attention.

"Well, Tidus, Yuna, her miscarriage, her distress, the fact that I cant fix it anymore..."

"Fix what dear?" asked Auntie Cemahla.

I turned around briefly and glared at Lenne, who was still reading her magazine like I wasn't even poking her. So, I slapped her knee hard. "_Lenne!_"I hissed.

She finally slammed the magazine down in her lap and looked at me. "What in Yevon's name do you want Rikku?" keeping her voice low but still snarling back at me.

_Yikes. _I thought. I jerked my head back towards Uncle Braska and Auntie Cemahla by the window and pointed, whispering "Look, look."

"Her problems. I always used to make her problems better." said Uncle Braska

"Shes not a little girl anymore." Auntie Cemahla said gently.

Lenne looked over to where I was pointing, glared back at me and picked up her magazine again, saying, "They're talking Rikku. It's private."

"Yeah, but its in Al Bhed." I protested. All Lenne did was shake her head, sigh and turn the page. I leaned further over the back of my chair, trying to take in more of what they were saying.

"I know, but I still see her as one." Uncle Braska said sadly.

_Just like Pops._ I thought.

"And you always will, but you need to understand that she's a young woman now dear. She's not the little girl you remember." Auntie Cemahla responded softly.

I glanced back at Lenne, who was flipping through the magazine. Rolling my eyes I looked back towards Uncle Braska and Auntie Cemahla just in time to see...

"Whoa." I breathed.

"Rikku what is it?" Lenne asked agitatedly. All I did was point to Uncle Braska and Auntie Cemahla.

"Oh..." Lenne trailed off at the sight of Uncle Braska breaking down slightly and Auntie Cemahla comforting him.

I was leaning so far over the back of the chair, straining to hear what they were saying, if anything, when suddenly Uncle Braska and Auntie Cemahla turned towards me and Lenne. "Eek!" I shrieked as I lost my balance from the surprise and tumbled over the back of the chair.

"Rikku!" Lenne exclaimed, grabbing at where I was moments earlier.

Crumpled in a heap on the floor I brushed my braids out of my face and groaned, "Owwie." I looked up and saw Auntie Cemahla smiling down at me, uncle Braska had his arms folded looking over his glasses at me with the slightest smirk on his face, and Lenne standing over me with her hands on her hips, frowning at me. "Hehehehe... Hi." I grinned sheepishly.

**Yuna's POV**

I had woken up from my nap and was watching my favorite channel, HGTV. The sunlight was filtering through the lilac curtains as someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's Lenne." she responded.

"It's open." I said as she came in.

"Sleep well?" Lenne asked.

"For once, yeah." I replied, smiling slightly.

"Did it ever occur to you that your cousin is completely nuts?" she asked, chuckling.

"Oh Yevon, what did she do this time?" I asked, laughing.

"Oh, she fell over the back of her chair eavesdropping on your parents." she replied with an amused smile.

"What were they saying?" I asked my friend.

Lenne just shrugged, saying while chuckling, "How should I know? I don't speak Al Bhed."

"They were speaking in Al Bhed..." I trailed off. _The only time I ever heard them talk in Al Bhed was when they were discussing serious matters when I was growing up. _I thought.

"How are you feeling now?" Lenne asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I'm ok, its just..." I trailed off.

"It's just what Yuna?" she asked softly, her smile fading slightly.

"Why does life have to be so hard? Why can't it be direct?" I asked, sighing and looking at Lenne.

"Against the grain should be your way of life." Lenne said knowingly.

"But, it's so hard." I replied, and lately, it was.

"That's why you have to leave your fears behind Yuna." she responded, sitting at the end of the bed. "If you sit there wallowing in fear, you'll never accomplish anything in life."

"I know..."

"But..?" she asked, reading my mind.

"I haven't let my fears go, and there's no second tries." I said softly.

Lenne moved closer and took my hand. "That's not true Yuna. There's always a second try."

"Doesn't seem like it." I replied.

"Is it worth it?" she asked bluntly.

I looked Lenne in the eyes, a bit taken aback by her question. _Is she insulting me? _I wondered.

Lenne stood up and squeezed my hand slightly, not breaking eye contact. "Tidus, the baby, your friends, family, the future you strive for, is it all worth it?" she asked directly.

I looked through Lenne then I looked down at the bedspread, mulling over what she said.

I felt Lenne squeeze my hand again, causing me to look up at her. "You're strong Yuna, you'll get through this." she said, smiling at me and getting up, moving towards the door. From the doorway, she turned and looked at me. She smiled and said, "Whats worth the prize is always worth the fight."

I smiled back at her and nodded. She was right, everything I was going through is worth the fight. A fight I'm not losing.

Lenne smiled back and walked out the door, closing it with a soft click.

I sat there for a moment thinking about the conversation I just had with Lenne. Then I grabbed my journal and rummaged through my purse for something to write with, finally pulling out my favorite pen with the fuzzy tip. I sat there for the longest time, trying to figure out where to start writing. Tapping my pen on the open journal, I think about what Lenne said and begin to write.

**Yuna's Journal Entry**

_ August 25, 2006_

_ So much has happened... I nearly lost the one I love most and to make matters worse, I almost lost our baby. I keep feeling like I can't handle this. Its overwhelming in every possible way... everyone keeps telling me I can handle this and I am strong enough. How can it be so hard when you know what you have to do? You know you have to be strong, you know you have to overcome it all but you feel so lost. And I've been trying so hard. I feel like I'm going to fail, but I know I can't. I have to succeed for Tidus and our baby. I will go on, I must._

_ Lenne stopped by to see how I was after my ordeal. She mentioned something that inspired me. She said whats worth the prize is always worth the fight. Tidus, our baby, my family and friends, they're all worth the fight. Against the grain should be my way of life, and I need to leave my fears behind. And there's always a second try._

**End entry**

I sat there looking at what I had just written in cerulean blue ink and yawned, my eyelids feeling very heavy. I set the pen down in the middle of the journal and leaned my head back, drifting off to sleep.

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**We hope you enjoyed the chapter. We promise, you won't have to wait another six months before the next one comes out. Next chapter, Lulu comes to visit. Wonder what that means...? O.o Stay tuned for Chapter 13 of A World Away, If Today Was Your Last Day!**


	13. Just A Dream

We're back with another chapter of A World Away! Sadly, this took WAY longer than we wanted, but personal life does not allow for much time to write, as my fiancee and I are getting married and preparing for a (possible) deployment. Rest assured, we have notes for several more chapters, and are working on another chapter at the present time.

For now, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Just a Dream**

**Yuna's POV**

_ I rolled over to snuggle up to my husband, hearing the thunder clapping suddenly, rain pouring outside our bedroom window, only to find that he wasn't in bed. I looked at the clock, 2:30 am it read, groaning, I sat up and climbed out of bed, pulling my robe on, and walking into our daughter's room, I smiled as I peeked into her crib, she was sound asleep, breathing calmly and peacefully_. Where is Tidus? _I wondered to myself, walking out of the room, heading downstairs. As I made it down to the last step, I noticed it was almost completely dark, except for a faint light coming from in the kitchen. "Tidus?" I called softly, walking into the kitchen. I suddenly saw Tidus, he was standing in front of the kitchen window, flickers of lightening flashing over what I could see of him. Walking up behind him, I gently laid my hand on his shoulder. "Baby?" I asked, softly. _

_ After a deep sigh, he asked quietly, "What is it dear?" _

"_What are you doing up?" I asked softly._

"_Couldn't sleep." he replied distantly._

"_Why?" I asked._ Something's wrong, _I thought to myself_.

"_I cant stay here anymore." He said heavily. starring out the window as lightning illuminated his silhouette and thunder rumbled._

_ I squeezed his shoulder. "What are you talking about?" I asked, feeling panic start to rise in me._

"_Just that..." He trailed off, in a low quiet voice._

"_Just what?" I asked concerned, with a sinking feeling._

"_Yuna, I have to go..." he replied sadly, looking over his shoulder at me, just as thunder cracked outside._

_ I grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, looking deep into his eyes, only to find the one look I never wanted to see. his ocean blue eyes, were watery, and sad, yet so full of love. "What do you mean you have to go?" I asked, feeling my heart fall to my feet._

"_I'm sorry I can't stay and help you raise Acuria." He replied, his voice cracking with emotion._

_ I dropped my hands and looked at the floor in utter disbelief. _This can't be happening._ I thought to myself. "I just don't understand Tidus..." I said my breathing uneven, shaking my head, tears falling uncontrollably down my cheeks._

_ I felt him lift my chin with a finger, and when i looked up at him he leaned in slowly, our lips came together softly in a passionate yet simple kiss, full of love. after he pulled away, breaking the kiss his blue eyes were full of tears. "I love you," he said deeply. then walking through me. As he did, I felt my world crumbling beneath me._

_ I spun around and grabbed for him, but my hand went right through his transparent figure. Sinking to the floor on my knees, I lost all control of my emotions, "Tidus!" I screamed a heart wrenching scream watching as he faded away completely._

**YUNA'S POV.**

"Tidus!" I screamed, jolting straight up in bed, covered in sweat, tears pouring down my face.

Breathing hard, I realized it was just a dream, but it felt so real.

Still breathing heavily i tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear about the same time there was a soft knock on the door.

**Lulu's POV**

As i reached for the doorknob i heard stifled sobs coming from inside the room.

"Hey Lu, maybe we should just go, ya?" said my husband from behind me, in a hushed tone.

Completely ignoring him, I turned the knob and proceeded inside the room. When I entered the room, I found Yuna sitting straight up in bed, she was crying hard and shaking, breathing heavily.

"Maybe she needs a moment alone ya?" Came Wakka's voice again.

She looked across at me, unable to find the words I knew she wanted to say. I rushed over to her bedside, embracing her in a hug, knowing instantly something happened.

"Uh... Lu?" Inquired my oblivious husband.

I shot him a glare over my shoulder, still embracing Yuna.

He stepped back, "Um, I'm gonna go get a soda ya?," He said, quickly leaving the room.

I shook my head and returned my attention to Yuna.

"Yuna?" I asked softly. She just continued to choke up and shake, sinking her face into my shoulder.

"Yuna look at me," I said calmly yet firmly.

She looked up slowly, getting some control over her emotions, tears still sliding down her cheeks.

Gently wiping her tears away, and brushing her hair out of her face. I sat down on the bed next to her, holding her hands.

"Now, what happened Yuna?" I asked.

She just stared down at her lap, looking suddenly horrified. I Followed her gaze down to her journal which was splashed with tears.

"Uh, oh no!" She exclaimed, frantically wiping the pages.

"Yuna, enough it's fine," I said comfortingly, closing the journal and placing it on the nightstand.

Taking her hands back in mine, I inquired softly again, "What happened Yuna?"

"I...I had a dream..."She said while sniffling, tears slowly gliding down her cheeks.

"What was the dream about?" I asked, stroking my thumbs across her hands softly

"T-Tidus..." she choked out.

"What about Tidus?" I urged softly.

"He... he disappeared!" She cried.

"What do you mean he disappeared?" I asked, curiously tilting my head.

"He told me he had to leave, and that he was sorry that he couldn't stay and help me raise Acuria..." She trailed off, taking her hands out of mine and placing them on her stomach.

"Acuria?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, curiously.

"Our daughter," She replied. Looking me in the eyes, with a slight smile.

I nodded, placing my hands over hers.

"But why did he have to leave?" She asked, starting to tear up again.

"Yuna, you know he would never leave you and the baby, of his own accord."

She nodded. "I know, but why did I have a dream like that?" She asked, sadly.

"Yuna, you have been under much stress lately and feel like you have no control over the events playing out in your life." I said wisely.

Yuna blinked, understanding silently.

"However dreams can be a window into reality, whether they be positive or negative." I stated simply.

"So then you mean...?" She trailed off, looking down, shaking her head.

"Yes Yuna," I nodded.

She sighed deeply, and looked me in the eyes, "I can't lose them."

"You never will, the love you share is eternal Yuna." I told her.

She nodded, "But how do I handle it all?" She asked, looking so lost inside herself.

"Would you live each moment like your last Yuna?" I asked.

She looked at me for a moment, confused, and then the light started to return to her eyes.

"Yes, I will." She replied strongly.

I nodded, "Let nothing stand in your way." I told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded again, straightening up, "I will go on...I must." She said, firmly resolved to be strong.

I nodded and smiled, pulling her into a hug, "I know Yuna." I said

Letting go of Yuna, I got up and looked down at her, and smiled again. "Well, I best be getting down to the waiting room to check on Wakka, Yevon knows what he's doing." I said playfully exasperated, placing my hand on my forehead and shaking my head.

Yuna laughed slightly, "Ok, thank you Lulu." She said with a small smile.

I nodded and turned to leave, "I just wish I knew what to think." she said softly from behind me.

I stopped in the doorway, turning and looking her in the eyes one last time.

"What if today was your last day?" I asked. Then walked out, closing the door behind me.

**YUNA'S POV**.

I sat back, thinking about everything Lulu had just told me, I was about to close my eyes when the door opened and a certain blonde stuck her head in.

"Yunie? You awake?" She asked softly.

"Yes Rikku, I am," I said smiling, her cheery personality a welcome relief to the mood of the day so far.

She grinned and bounced over to my bedside, "How ya doin cuz?" She asked, lightheartedly.

"I'm fine, a little better than before," I replied, still lost in thought over the conversation I just had with Lulu, and the dream.

"Well, that's good to hear," She chirped, patting my leg through the bedspread.

I nodded and found myself smiling; Rikku could always get you to smile, even when you thought you couldn't possibly.

"I still don't know what to think about everything, and how I'm going to get through all that I face." I said my smile fading.

I looked at her; she then stopped grinning and turned serious, looking back at me, taking my hands in hers. "Don't take the free ride in your own life Yunie." She said seriously.

I looked at her, shocked by her rare seriousness.

She then broke out into a grin, and kissed me on the cheek. "Well, I better be getting back, I was kinda supposed to be babysitting for Wakka and Lulu. I left Vindina with Lenne". She said, giggling and, bouncing back out the door.

I laughed and shook my head. _Rikku is Rikku_ I thought to myself.

Looking over at my nightstand, I picked up my journal and opened it, thankfully the tears didn't splash on anything important.

Picking up my pen off my lap, I was just about to start writing when there was yet another knock on the door.

I closed my journal and asked, "Who is it?"

The voice on the other side said, "It's Wakka ya?"

I chuckled. "Come in Wakka." I said smiling.

"You sure ya? I don't want to come in if you're busy or anything?" He hesitated.

"No, its fine Wakka, please come in." I said.

The door opened and Wakka slowly walked in, scratching the back of his head.

"So uh how ya doin' Yuna?" He asked, walking over to my bedside uneasily.

"I'm doing fine, better than I was." I replied.

"Well that's good ya? Me and Lu, and everyone's been worried about you." He said finally making to my bedside.

I nodded, "I know Wakka, I'll be ok. It's just..." I trailed off, starting to get lost in thought again.

"Just what ya?" He asked, looking concerned, his eyebrows wrinkling together.

"I just don't know what to think about everything, and how to handle it." I sighed, hearing myself repeat the same thing over and over, but still not finding an answer.

"The first step you take is always the longest stride ya?" He told me in an unusually serious voice suddenly.

I looked up at him, and thought about what he was saying. It was so true.

"So do whatever it takes Yuna." He finished, smiling.

I nodded and smiled back, "Yes, your right Wakka."

"Oy," he suddenly said, "Slapping his forehead, with his hand, I just forgot ya? I gotta get back; I left Vindina with Your cousin. Lu might get mad at me ya?" He said quickly, running out the door.

I chuckled, "Thanks Wakka" I called after him.

He stuck his head back in and smiled, "No problem ya?"

I smiled back, as his red head disappeared out the door.

I opened my journal again, once again left in peace, to think on everything.

However, my peace was once again short lived.

One sharp knock at the door, made me jump slightly.

I looked up just in time to see Paine walk in forcefully like she always does.

"Yuna, how are you?" She asked directly, making it to my bedside, standing over me with her arms folded.

"I'm fine, I guess..." I trailed off.

"You guess?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Well, I just wish I knew how to handle everything," I explained, sighing. "I just feel so lost, like I have no control over anything," I said, looking down.

"You can't rewind a moment in this life, because the hands of time are never on your side Yuna." She said, firmly.

I looked up at her, feeling uplifted by her words.

"It's never too late to do as you chose, regardless of who you are." She continued.

"But the past shapes the future and everything that's already happened..." I trailed off, shaking my head.

"Can you let the past go?" She asked bluntly

"But, if you let the past go, you lose the future" I argued. It's what I strongly believed.

"You must let the past go, in order for the present to shape the future." She countered strongly.

I nodded, remaining silent, taking to heart what she just told me.

"So live like you're never living twice," she said, unfolding her arms and giving me a warm smirk, before turning and walking out.

**Rikku's Pov. (Inside the waiting room)**

"I can't believe you Rikku," Lenne fussed at me, irritated.

I sank lower in the plush chair, twisting one of my many braids, while was Lenne sitting in the chair next to me, with her arms folded, glaring at me.

I nervously fidgeted in my chair as the brunette continued, "You shouldn't have been eavesdropping. It's not polite." She scolded me.

"Well, I can't help it if they were talking in Al Bhed." I countered.

"They had a good reason to do so Rikku. It was private." Lenne replied crossly.

"Lenne, honey, don't be so hard on her. We didn't say anything detrimental to her mental wellbeing." said Auntie Cemahla, coming to my rescue as she turned the page in the magazine she was reading on the couch across from us.

"Still, she should have just minded her own business. I'm sure she was raised better." Lenne snipped.

"Lenne, it's not like we were discussing plans for world domination." Interjected Uncle Braska.

"That's right! Thanks Uncle Braska" I chirped, grinning at him

He gave me a stern look. "That still doesn't mean it's alright to eavesdrop young lady." he said, looking down over his glasses at me.

"Awww man" I whined.

"Whining again Rikku?" came a menacing voice from behind me suddenly.

I jumped and whirled around in my chair to see none other than Doctor P standing there with her hand on her hip scowling down at me. "Eep!" I squeaked as I sank back in the chair.

"Hello Paine how's Baralai?" asked Auntie Cemahla, smiling up at her.

"Doing well," Paine replied, nodding.

Wakka and Lulu came walking in carrying Vindina, who was trying to wiggle free of his mother's tight hold.

"Hello Paine," Lulu nodded at her as they walked in.

"Hey there Paine," seconded Wakka. "How's things ya?" He asked, grinning uneasily at her.

"Considering the circumstances, things are fine." She replied plainly, sitting on the arm of my chair, folding her arms.

There was a silent nod from everyone.

"However," she continued, "Yuna is not handling things as well as she could." She said looking at all of us.

"Hey she's doing what she can ya?" Wakka said, coming to Yuna's defense.

"No, she's doing only what she thinks she can, not what she actually can do." Paine continued, shooting an exasperated glare at Wakka.

"You must remember how Yuna thinks, she always thinks with her heart." Lulu interjected, setting Vindina down on the floor, the excited two year old started giggling and toddling around.

"That she does," Lenne added, smiling slightly.

"She always has," Auntie Cemahla agreed, smiling as well.

Uncle Braska nodded in agreement as well.

Paine just shrugged and remained silent.

"Hey everybody," I started. "Yunie will be just fine, she's strong and she'll find her own way to get through all of this. All we can and will do is just be there for her." I finished, smiling at everyone.

They all looked at me in disbelief, Uncle Braska and Auntie Cemahla were both smiling at me, Lenne was shaking her head, smirking at me, resting her head in her hand, Wakka was chuckling and smiling at me, with Lulu alongside of him, a small smirk playing its way across her thin normally pursed lips.

I leaned back, my smile fading, wondering why they were all staring at me that way. I finally looked up at Paine.

She got up, and placed one hand one her hip, looking up at everyone. "Rikku maturing? This truly is a time of miracles" she remarked sarcastically looking down at me smirking.

Everyone broke out into much needed laughter, and even I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey! What's all this laughter about when my poor little niece is sick?" Suddenly came a gruff but loving voice, from the entrance to the waiting room.

I looked up in time to see Pops come walking through the door with bunches flowers and balloons in his hands. _What the heck is pops thinking? He went way overboard there. _I thought to myself in disbelief.

"Cid, I'm so glad your here." Auntie Cemahla smiled, getting up and embracing her brother.

"Hello Cid," Uncle Braska smiled, standing up, and shaking his hand.

"Hello Cid," Lulu smiled slightly, keeping a watchful eye on Vindina.

"Hey there Cid," chimed in Wakka, in his thick Besaidian accent, playing with Vindina on the floor.

"Hi Cid." Said Lenne, straightening up in her chair respectfully.

"Cid," Paine stated, nodding.

"Hey y'all sure is a full house in here isn't it?" Chuckled Pops.

"What are you doing here Pops?" I asked, surprised to see him here, considering he rarely ever stops his work for anything.

"I heard Yuna was sick, she'll need her Uncle ya know?" He replied.

"Where did you hear that?" I asked.

"Gippal told me, at least somebody did." He retorted, setting the balloons and flowers down on the coffee table.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" I asked, getting irritated._ He always had to start something, even in this circumstance. _I thought to myself.

"You know very well what it means young lady." He snapped back, folding his arms.

"We do apologize Cid; it's been a very hectic day." Explained Uncle Braska, pushing his glasses up and sighing.

"That's still no excuse ya know?" Pops snapped back.

"Give them a break Pops, it's been really rough." I said, coming to their defense.

"A family crisis involves the whole family, no exceptions." He snorted, not dropping it.

"Cid..." Auntie trailed off, looking at her brother.

"What?" He asked, turning to his sister.

All Auntie Cemahla did was sigh and shake her head before we heard, "Vydran!" just as Brother came trotting in, looking frantic.

"What in sand hills took you so long son?" Asked Pops, turning to Brother.

"You left me Father!" He shot back, in his heavy Al Bhed accent.

"The heck I did, besides I assumed you were capable of coming in on your own, seeing as how you insist on reminding me that you're all grown up." Pops scolded him.

"But Father! The car door tried to eat the back of my shirt." He explained in a hushed tone, just barely above a whisper, leaning in close to Pops.

"Eh? What happened? Speak up boy!" Prodded Pops, shaking his head.

"I heard what he said," I jumped in, standing up and walking over to them, with a devilish grin making its way across my face.

"You have to be more careful Brother, cars are our friends remember?" I snickered.

"Oh, you hush!" He fussed at me.

"Don't you tell me to hush!" I shot back, getting mad.

"Both of you hush!" Pops, scolded.

"Your one to talk Pops, considering you started all of this!" I retorted.

"The heck I did! It's you kids, always starting something. You're embarrassing me." He shot back, looking around.

"We embarrass you? Please, maybe birdbrain here, but not me." I defended.

"Ahh Rikku! How dare you talk about me with such disrespect!" Brother exclaimed.

"Well what is there to respect about you? Certainly not you're driving!" I shot back, proud of myself.

"Hey! At least he drives better than any of you women ever did!" Pops boosted, slapping a strong hand on brother's shoulder.

A deep silence suddenly fell over the room, as glares from every woman in the room zeroed in on Pops.

"Oh Yevon," Uncle Braska sighed walking out of the waiting room.

Pops looked around, suddenly noticing the attention his comment had drawn, cleared his throat uneasily.

I suddenly noticed Doctor P out of the corner of my eye, walking towards us._ Oh you are so in for it now Pops. _I thought to myself devilishly.

Paine made it over to us, just an inch apart from Pops, she looked him in the eyes, as she walked by slowly.

Her look was ice cold and shot right through Pops, as she walked out of the waiting room. He swallowed hard, looking down.

Auntie Cemahla folded her arms, looking sternly at Pops.

Pops straightened up and continued, "Well um, besides, women shouldn't even be allowed to be driving. It's us men who create and keep them machines going anyways." He finished, with a smug smile across his face.

"Ugh! That is so primitive!" I snarled. _Here we go again._ I thought to myself, feeling my blood start to boil. He had hit a nerve with that one.

"Got a bone to pick about it have ya?" He asked turning to me, with that "dad stance".

"You bet I do!" I shot back, preparing to fight him to the death over this.

"Well let's hear it," He taunted.

"Yes! Let's hear it Rikku." Seconded Brother.

"Ok, you three, that's quite enough. We are in a hospital after all." Auntie Cemahla interjected.

"That's right, luckily for your sakes we are!" I added, glaring at Pops and Brother.

"That's not helping dear." Auntie Cemahla reminded me.

"But they started it!" I exclaimed, pointing at them.

Auntie Cemahla put her hands up in defeat and said "You three work it out" before walking out with a sigh.

"Heh, see there? That's a woman for ya son." Pops chuckled, slapping Brother's shoulder hard.

**Lulu's Pov.**

I shook my head, at Cid's utter ignorance.

Hearing a small chuckle come from my husband, who was sitting on the floor with our son. I shot a glare down at him. "Excuse me?" I asked, daring him to agree with Cid.

"Huh? Oh, I was just laughing at uh, uh..." he trailed off pointing at our son momentarily forgetting his name.

Standing up abruptly, shaking my head at Wakka. I picked up Vindina and walked out of the waiting room with my ignorant, Yevon blessed husband following close behind me.

"Wait Lu, I'm sorry ya? I didn't mean anything by it." He called after me hoping to be forgiven.

**Rikku's POV**

"Ha! People these days just can't take a friendly debate." Chuckled Pops.

"You call this a 'friendly debate' Pops?" I asked, in disbelief

"There's nothing wrong with a man stating his opinion." Pops retorted proudly.

"Yeah well, your 'opinion's' wrong! I mean come on Pops, that's just not right."

"And what would you know about it? Look at you, married and still acting like a child. Running around by yourself, without your husband is this world full of men." Pops replied, shaking his head sadly.

"What the heck does that have to do with this?" I asked confused. _Sometimes_ _he just did not make any sense at all._

"I had to get you married off before something bad happened to you." He replied, simply.

"Huh? What?" I asked, more confused than ever. "Do you even know what you're talking about Pops?" I asked.

"You need a man to take care of you; you couldn't make it on your own." He replied sternly.

"Excuse me? I'll have you know, I take care of Gippal. I'm perfectly independent." I boosted putting my hands on my hips.

"Independent my britches! You've been dependent on men since the day you were born." "All you women are" He shot back, proud of himself.

"Excuse me!" "At least I left the house and made my own life, unlike birdbrain over there!" I retorted. Pointing at my brother, who was walking in circles trying to see the back of his shirt.

"Ah nonsense, we just need to find him a good woman to settle down with." Pop's boosted slapping a strong hand on brother's shoulder, startling him.

"What? Father no!" Brother protested, then lowering his voice to barely above a whisper, "I'm scared, they might hurt me." He said shakily in Pop's ear.

"Come on now son, it's time to man up! Shoulders back, and puff your chest like this." Instructed Pops, showing him.

"Chin up, clinch fists now boy!" Continued Pops. "Now walk like this!" Pops began strutting about the waiting room, with brother following shakily behind, nearly tripping over his own feet.

"Brother, you look like a scared Choccobo!" I exclaimed, trying not to fall over laughing.

"Hush now! He's doing just fine. Hmmm let's see now..." Trailed off Pop's scanning the waiting room, then spotting a nurse walking through. She looked to be no more than twenty two, with curly red hair, and half framed glasses. _Oh, this is going to be good. _I thought to myself, starting to grin.

"Go get her son!" Pop's whispered in brother's ear, giving him an encouraging shove in the back nearly knocking him over.

As instructed, Brother strutted over to her, looking back at Pops concerned. Pops just dismissed it, waving his hand at Brother, urging him to continue.

He made it over to her, crossing her path and stopping in front of her, startling her slightly. "Can i help you Sir?" She asked, adjusting her glasses.

_She's actually pretty and nice. Too bad Brother's such a reject. _I thought to myself, snickering.

He just puffed his chest out more, struggling to speak.

"Sir? Are you alright?" She asked, looking concerned.

He opened his mouth to have only grunts and squeaks come out, as he started to sweat and shake.

"Sir let's get you some help ok?" She asked, placing one hand softly on his arm.

Brother looked down at her hand on his arm, and went cross eyed, stuttering "I...I..." Then sighing as he doubled over backwards, fainting.

"Woo! Way to go birdbrain!" I cheered; laughing so hard tears were rolling down my cheeks.

"Son!" Shouted Pops, rushing over to his side, dropping to his knees and fanning Brother.

The nurse fanned him with her clipboard, "Should I get the doctor sir?" She asked Pops.

"Ah no, he's going to be just fine, just needs to get a little air is all." Pops replied with a cheesy grin and wink at her. "Come on son, get up," Pop's prompted, lowering his voice, "Don't embarrass me in front of the woman folk."

Brother groaned, rubbing his eyes, "Ugh, I had a dream a red choccobo was chasing me."

"Ah, you're fine, here sit up" Pops helped him sit up, with one arm around his shoulder.

Brother slowly steadied himself, focusing his eyes, as they fell over the nurse. He suddenly went pale, eyes widening. "Ahh! There it is! The red choccobo that was chasing me!" He exclaimed, scurrying up against Pops.

I grinned evilly, quietly leaning in close to brother, whispering in his ear. "Kweh!"

"Ahhh!" Brother screamed, jumping to his feet running out of the waiting room.

"Son wait!" Pop's called after him, grabbing the flowers and balloons off the coffee table, as he ran out of the waiting room after him.

The nurse stood up shakily, looking quite confused. "I'm so sorry about all that, it's nothing unusual really. Which if you think about it, is sad." I explained to her, chuckling.

"Well...if you need anything…" The nurse replied, still looking confused as she carried on along her way.

I walked back over and sank back into my chair next to Lenne, sighing deeply.

"Ugh, those two are unbelievable." I said, shaking my head looking over at Lenne.

She looked thoughtfully at me for a moment, then suddenly busted out laughing, hugging herself as she did.

"What's so funny?" I asked, grinning.

She just continued laughing so hard she was crying.

I joined her, laughing as well. Thinking to myself..._ I think I know._

**Paine's Pov.**

I walked into the hall, glad to be away from that family circus. Suddenly hearing a scream, I turned around just in time to see Brother came screaming and running out of the waiting room, and down the hall in the other direction, arms over his head with Cid trying to catch up with him. "Wait son!" He called after him.

Shaking my head, I continued down the hall toward the elevator, hearing it chime and the doors open. Looking up in time to see the last person I thought I would ever see step out of the elevator.

He walked out, wearing jeans, a button down shirt and a beaten up old leather jacket, his badge and gun on his belt Looking down as he walked down the hall towards me, eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.

It was none other than my dead beat father, Auron Sanders, Bevelle Chief of Police, if memory serves correctly.

I stopped in my tracks, folding my arms, glaring at him. Just as he was within ten feet of me he looked up, meeting my glare, coming to a stop, and took his sun glasses off.

"Hello Enya, nice to see you." He said nodding.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, not returning his greeting, feeling the anger rise within me.

"I'm here to visit Yuna and pay my respects to Tidus; I am their Godfather after all." He replied simply.

"Hmp, certainly being a better Godfather then you ever were a father." I shot back abruptly.

"Enya..."he trailed off, looking at me pleadingly.

"You have a lot of nerve showing your face after all these years." I reminded him, angrily.

"Enya you don't know what happened between your mother and I." He responded, sighing wearily.

"Oh I damn well know what happened, all too well." I retorted. "Even though you always tried to make yourself look innocent." I continued as the blood pounded in my ears from rage.

"You only know one side of the story; you were too young to remember all of what happened Enya." He stated, shaking his head.

"I remember very well what happened asshole." I snarled, storming past him, my boot heels pounding on the tile floor as I walked into the elevator, jamming the button for the ground floor.

**Auron's pov.**

I sighed, watching as Enya stormed past me, disappearing into the elevator.

I turned around to see Braska and Cemahla walking towards me.

"Auron! It's so good to see you again." Cemahla exclaimed hugging me warmly, as they made it to my side.

"That it is Auron." Braska seconded, smiling and patting me on the back.

"It's good to see you both as well." I replied, nodding with a thin smile. "It's been a while."

"It's been too long my friend." Braska smiled, shaking his head.

"Indeed, this is quite a surprise Auron," Cemahla chuckled, smiling brightly. "Just like you too show up when we least expect it."

"Well I heard about Yuna and Tidus, I had to come visit them, and offer my help and support for all of you."

"We can always count on you Auron." Braska smiled, adjusting his glasses.

"How are they?" I asked.

"Yuna is doing better, but Tidus is still in a coma." Cemahla explained, looking sad at saying the last part.

"And the baby?" I asked.

Braska and Cemahla looked at me, shocked. "How did you know about their baby?" They both asked at the same time.

I chuckled, with a smirk. "Do you forget I'm the Chief of Police in Bevelle? There's not much that can get past me. Besides, there are a lot of reporters around there, and I happened to hear one saying the Lady Yuna was Pregnant."

"Oh my." Cemahla sighed, shaking her head.

Braska got an exasperated look, and pulled out his cell phone. "The reporter's name?" He inquired, ready to make a call.

"Relax my friends; it's been taken care of. It didn't leak out." I reassured them.

"I certainly hope not, Yuna doesn't need that stress now. She's just now accepting everything and getting control." Cemahla commented, looking concerned.

Braska nodded in agreement, putting his cell phone away.

"Yuna's strong, she'll make it. I stated. And she has two loving parents to guide her along the way."

"Speaking of parents, have you seen your daughter yet?" Cemahla asked, sweetly.

"As a matter of fact I did, she stormed into the elevator just before you both showed up." I replied, sighing and looking down.

"Why don't we go sit in the waiting room?" Braska offered.

We all walked in, and sat down in the chairs in the corner, after getting some coffee.

"Well? What happened Auron?" Cemahla asked gently, wrapping her hands around her cup.

"Yes, what happened? I hope it went well..." He trailed off, concerned.

I sighed and shook my head, sipping my coffee. "Well she certainly could have been happier to see me." I said sarcastically.

"I take it, it didn't go well then." Braska guessed, looking at me solemnly

"She just won't even let me begin to explain, she's too hurt, and all these years have just hardened her. There's nothing i can do..." I sighed.

"Auron, if I may, what really did happen back then?" Braska asked, leaning forward.

I sighed and looked down in my coffee. "You already know the story old friend."

"Well, Lucrecia never did really..." Cemahla trailed off, searching for the right words looking a bit uncomfortable.

I nodded and sighed, silently understanding what she was trying to say. _Lucrecia never told those who loved her much_. I remembered to myself, sadly_._

**Flashback**

_"Lucrecia please, I'm going to be here for you and the girl's full time now! We'll all go on vacation together, get away from everything and everybody, get to know each other as a family again, just like it used to be"._

_"It never was like that"._

_"Yes it was Lucrecia, remember?"_

_"You were never here, never are."_

_"I can't change what's already happened, but I can change how it is now."_

_"I'm done Auron."_

_"Please don't, I'll make this right, and we'll be fine again."_

_"It's too late," she sighed. "I'm done."_

_"Now the girls, I'll take one and you can take the other"._

_"What? Separate the girls? Why?"_

_"Because they're done too, we will never be the family we used to be or could have been."_

_"Lucrecia, I handed in my badge today."_

_"You take Rhea, and I'll take Enya."_

_"Listen to me! For Yevon's sake!" I raised my voice. "I gave up my badge! I'm done."_

_"So am I."_

_I knelt before her, as she sat in her favorite chair in our bedroom. "Lucrecia please don't do this, I gave up my badge, I'm done. I love you and the girls, I'm sorry for the past, and I'm going to be here now, just please?" I put my head down begging._

_I felt her soft gently hand on my chin lifting it up, looking into her eyes. "Auron", she started softly and lovingly. "It's ok, everything will be ok, you won't understand now, but this is how it has to be". _

_"Why?" I asked, starting to choke up, but she was so calm and seemed at peace that it made me start to feel the same. _

_ "You'll understand when you need too, I…I don't have much time. She closed her eyes momentarily, seemingly knowing something that I didn't._

_"What are you talking about Lucrecia?" Worry rising inside of me and a overwhelming feeling of sadness._

_"Just promise me one thing", she started, not answering my question._

_I looked deep into her eyes, signing I placed my hand on hers on my cheek. "Anything"._

_She smiled her eyes watery and full of love. "You and the girls reunite one day, when the time is right. It will be hard for all three of you, but you must."_

_"How will I know when the time is right?" _

_She smiled again. "You will know"._

_"Very well, I promise we will be a family again, you have my word." I nodded._

_She gave me the brightest smile I had ever seen, and then slowly leaned in kissing me softly._

_"I love you"._

_That was the last time, I ever heard her say it._

**End of flashback**.

I sighed, sipping my coffee. "Everything that happened was all my fault. I can't expect Enya to even want to forgive me, I can't even forgive myself"

"Auron you did nothing wrong, you were a good husband and still are a good father" Cemahla corrected.

"Yes you are Auron, Enya will come around" Braska joined.

"Yes she will" Cemahla agreed.

I just sighed and shook my head.

"Everything will be ok Auron" Cemahla smiled at me.

I smiled back, remembering what were once Lucrecia's words.

**Yuna's Pov.**

I flipped through the channels on the TV in my room, as the sun was setting, sending orange, white, and gold light streaks across my room, and bed, thinking over all everyone had told me today, when there was alas yet another visitor at my door.

I looked toward the door, at the sound of a few soft knocks. "Come in." I replied politely.

The door opened, and Daddy and Mom came walking in smiling. "Hey sweetheart, look who's here." Daddy said, cheerfully.

"Who?" I asked, curiously.

"Someone you haven't seen for a long time honey." Mom smiled brightly.

I looked to the door in time to see my Godfather walk in carrying flowers and a teddy bear.

"Auron!" I exclaimed happily, throwing the covers back and starting to get out of bed.

"Don't even think about it young lady." He warned me, walking over to my bedside, giving me a playful glare.

As he set the flowers and teddy bear down on my bedside table, I threw my arms around his neck pulling him into a hug. "It's so good to see you, it's been so long." I cried, overwhelmed with emotion at seeing him after all these years.

"Alright settle down Yuna, it's good to see you too. You're all grown up young lady." He replied, giving his thin Auron smile, and a chuckle.

"What made you come here?" I asked, smiling.

"I heard the Lady Yuna had taken ill." He stated smiling at me slightly.

"Well...I um...kind of..." I trailed off sliding back on the bed, looking down avoiding his gaze.

"What is it Yuna?" He inquired, cocking his head slightly.

I shifted nervously, tucking my hair behind my ears a few times biting my lip slightly.

My eyes darted from Mom to Daddy to Auron, who were all looking at me waiting for a reply.

I shifted again clearing my throat, searching for an answer to give them. "Um..." I started trying to find the words.

"Relax Yuna; I'm just glad you and the baby are alright." He smiled.

"H-how did you know?" I stammered, snapping my head up meeting his gaze again.

"I have my sources." He replied chuckling lightly.

I looked at him confused as he turned to mom and daddy continuing. "Quite the scandal really. Spira will certainly have a field day with this."

"Oh Yevon no..." I groaned falling back against the pillows, sighing and covering my face with my hands.

"Yuna honey, everything is alright. Auron's already straightened it out. Just worry about taking care of yourself, the baby and Tidus." Mom said with a smile.

"I know, and I will." I vowed, sitting up my face still buried in my hands. "This is just the last thing I need right now." I grumbled, tugging at my hair.

"Now sweetheart, everything will be fine. We will not let anything happen to you, Tidus, or the baby." My father tried to soothe me.

"Yuna, listen to me," My Godfather started. "I didn't just come by to see how you were then leave, I'll be sticking around to help in any way I can for all of you." He finished, looking at us.

I looked up at him slowly, trying to choke back my oncoming tears of frustration and relief.

**Paine's Pov**

I sat down on my motorcycle and reached into the saddle bag looking for my cigarettes. I only smoked when I was extremely stressed or pissed. Today I was both. I had not expected to see my father in Bevelle Memorial. He just had to show his sorry ass after all these years of no contact at all.

Finally finding what i was looking for, I pulled out a Marlboro and lit it, taking a long drag and flicking the ashes off the end.

_I wasn't fooled by the whole "Godfather" act. Was he trying to shove his way into my life now? _I asked myself, bitterly.

I raked my fingers through my hair roughly, crossing my legs and enjoying my cigarette. But my enjoyment was short lived.

I looked up at the sound of footsteps on the pavement, coming towards me. "This is a no smoking zone, you know Enya?" Came the voice of the jackass of a father I was hoping I left in the hospital.

"So what are you going to do, arrest me?" I asked sarcastically, in a snippy tone.

"No, but I will fine you." He retorted.

"Go for it, I don't give a shit." I responded, glaring over my sunglasses at him, taking another drag.

"Is that anyway to talk to an officer?" He asked, firmly.

"Hmp, some officer. Though you were always more concerned with taking care of the city then your own family." I snapped back, pushing my sunglasses back up with my middle finger flipping him off.

"When are you going to stop, and let me truly explain Enya?" He asked, sighing, ignoring my gesture.

"There's nothing you could say, do and or tell me, that would fool me into believing your lies." I replied, raising my voice slightly.

"It's not lies; I've never lied to you about anything." He argued.

"The hell you haven't, all you've ever done is lie. You lied to mom the whole time, and look what happened. Excellent work officer." I said, venomously, feeling the anger once again rise within me.

"Enya, your mother wasn't completely innocent in all of this. She's the one who ended it." I had no choice but to leave.

"Oh you had the choice alright, you just chose wrong, you selfish Bastard." I shot back, angrily.

"I did what I had to, and I'm facing that choice now." He replied calmly.

"Whatever." I said sharply, resting my elbow on my knee.

"Enya, you just don't understand everything. And I'm willing to explain it all if you would just listen." He offered.

"Hmm..." I pretended to consider, taking one last drag and flicking my cigarette at his feet, I started my bike, looking him dead in the eyes.

"Well you listen to this, fuck off." I snarled, swinging my leg over the bike, roaring off. _He can just drop dead for all I care, has the damn nerve to try and be a father now? After all this time, and after all the damage and hurt. Forget him. _I told myself. As I sped up a bit, looking in my mirror to see him watching me leave.

**Anonymous POV. **

I walked into room 803, checking on my secret love. Smiling as i saw him, lying there so peacefully and serene. His golden blonde locks gracefully edging his handsome adoring face.

Beneath those resting eyelids were the most beautiful ocean blue eyes ever, ones I could always get lost in.

I walked over to his bedside, a place I always have belonged. Raking my fingers through his angel soft hair, kissing his cheek gently, "Hey there my love." I whispered into his perfectly shaped ear, kissing it softly as I did.

"Let's see how you're doing today." I spoke to him sweetly.

"Mmmm, you're doing quite well sweetheart." I commented raking my fingertips down his muscular abdomen slowly, memorizing each curve and path.

Sliding my hand down lower, tracing my fingernail just inside the waist band of his boxers, seductively.

Kissing his neck softly, stroking my cheek across his, whispering in his ear. "I've missed you so much baby."

"It is such a shame we've had to be apart for so long, these days have not been easy on me." I sighed, enjoying his wonderful scent.

"We'll be together soon, I smiled at him." _I just have a few things to take care of first_. I thought to myself.

I sighed again, tracing my finger across his beautiful face. Kissing him softly on the cheek, before standing up, flattening my shirt.

"Well, I must be going my sweet." I made it to the door, turning and looking at him one last time before I left, smiling and blowing him a kiss as I closed the door.


	14. Too Late

Even with a lot going on in our personal life, we're back with another chapter! It took a while, but after tweaking, editing and arguing over it, my wife and I FINALLY finished it (we finally got married. Told you we had a lot going on.) No matter what we have going on, we always try to write a little on the very story that brought us together. Currently, we're working on chapters 15 and 16, with notes for 17-20 so far. Before my Yuna kills me, ON WITH THE CHAPPIE! XD

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Chapter 14: Too Late

**Yuna's Pov**

I woke up the next morning feeling pretty good actually. I sat up and stretched, yawning and squinting towards the window where the soft morning light filtered through. But to my still sleepy eyes it was bright and obnoxious. I squinted at the clock on my bedside table, it read 7:30 am. I groaned before hearing a soft voice coming from the direction of my door.

"Good morning, miss Higurashi," came a voice after a soft knock on my opening hospital room door. Looking over I saw come in the very nurse I had screamed at before, she came in slowly with a slight smile, looking a bit nervous. "How are you feeling today?" she asked as she checked the monitors and took my vitals. She spoke in a soft kind voice and she appeared younger then me. She had half curly half wavy honey brown/blonde hair, she was shorter then me as well, though she was a hospital nurse and probably saw more horrific sights then I could ever even imagine. She still retained a very young, innocent looking face, one that fit on a little girl, as well as her personality.

"I'm feeling much better today" I replied, feeling bad for how I treated her before, I'm never usually like that to anyone, certainly not anyone like her.

"Good" she replied with a smile. "Well everything looks really good here, I'll let the doctor know and she'll be in in a minute ok?" and with that she turned to leave.

"Wait please." I said, stopping her in the doorway,

"Yes? What is it ma'am?" She inquired politely.

Not being able to find the words I was looking for at the moment, I found myself just saying "I'm sorry about before, I was very upset, but it's no excuse. and it wasn't your fault, you were just doing your job and following hospital rules, I was just..." I trailed off sighing, realizing I was rambling. "I'm sorry." I apologized simply, shaking my head, looking down.

When I finally looked up expecting her to either be gone or mad, for either I wouldn't have blamed her. But, what she did surprised me, she came walking over quickly, dropping her clipboard on the foot of my bed, suddenly wrapping me in a hug. Startled at first I didn't move but then realizing how much I just needed someone to understand what I was going through and how I felt with out speaking it, I hugged her back, knowing we had that understanding.

When we finally pulled away from each other, we were both crying and apologizing to each other, then that's when she told me something I'll never forget. She told me about her fiancé, Jack Gohagen.

"Miss Yuna, you have nothing to apologize for." She explained, holding my hands gently in hers, sitting on the edge of my bed. "I know what your going through, I could tell from our first encounter. It's what all military spouses go through, I understand this because I'm going to be one."

"My fiancé Jack Gohagen, is in the Army and I love him so much I don't want anything to happen to him but I can't stop it from if it's suppose to. I mean to feel even for a moment what you must have been feeling at that time is awful, it is for all military spouses and families." I nodded my head as she continued, it was so wonderful to have someone to talk to who just simply "got it" and someone so young, innocent, and yet so strong and mature just made me focus again.

"I just felt terrible for having to turn you away, after you left I sat there thinking what if that had been Jack who was in the OR and someone else just doing their job had to turn me away, it's just not right. It's a ridiculous rule, and to put someone in that position is awful. All you can think in that moment when you turn them away is, 'I'm so sorry'." She started to cry, tears streaming down her face as she continued.

At that moment I felt such a immense pull to comfort and mentor her, she felt instantly like a little sister to me, someone less experienced then me. _But what would I have to possibly offer when I can't even keep myself together._ I thought sadly. All I did is wipe her tears away and hug her tightly.

"Keri listen to me," I started, pulling out of the hug. "We won't lose them, I won't lose my Tidus and you won't loose your Jack, because no matter what happens they will always be with us, right here". I placed my hand our her heart and smiled.

She placed her hand on mine and smiled back. "Right here." she returned.

At a knock on the door we broke out of our moment, "Good morning Miss Higurashi." The doctor said with a smile, walking in.

Keri stood up and grabbed her clipboard off the bed. "She's doing well, doctor. Her vitals are excellent." she told the doctor.

"That's good to hear, thank you Miss Cheffers." The doctor replied kindly.

"I'll be by to check on you later Miss Higurashi." Keri said with a smile, walking out closing the door softly behind her. I smiled back and turned my attention to the doctor.

"Well allow me to introduce myself, I'm Doctor Kay Niyum" the Doctor said with a smile shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you Doctor Niyum. I'm Yuna as I'm sure you know by now," I replied with a small chuckle.

"Yes quite," Doctor Niyum chuckled back, "So how are you feeling today?" She asked, taking vitals like Keri had, looking at the monitors.

"Much better, thank Yevon. Will I be able to be released today?" I asked, hopeful.

"I should think so, everything looks great here" she replied writing on her clipboard.

"That's wonderful, will I be able to go see and stay with my fiancé?" I asked.

"I don't see why not, as far as I know he's stable and would benefit from you being with him, but you'll have to ask the head nurse of that ward just to be sure." Doctor Niyum explained as she finished her writing.

"What's the head nurses name? So I know who to ask." I inquired smiling.

"Nurse Bergen, Leona Bergen." The Doctor replied. "At least I believe she's head of that ward, she's one who has switched quite often." She explained.

"Thank you Doctor, I'll find out." I replied smiling.

"Not a problem Miss Higurashi, you and the baby take it easy and you let me know if you have any problems or anything ok?"

"We will." I replied placing my hands on my stomach.

"Very good, Keri will take care of your paperwork at the front desk." Doctor Niyum said walking out the door, "Have a good day." She said with a smile, closing the door with a soft click.

"You too," I smiled back.

I slowly got out of bed, stretching completely, it felt good to finally be up and about but Yevon I was stiff. I groaned as I got dressed and gathered my things.

I was dying to go see Tidus but I had to take care of the paperwork first, so I headed out of my room and down the hall towards the desk. As I came up I saw Keri knee deep in phone calls and paperwork.

She somehow within a few minutes of waiting managed to handle it all, and turned her attention to me smiling. "Hey Yuna, I see you got released." she said with a smile.

"Yes thank Yevon," I replied pulling out my phone, suddenly remembering everyone would probably like to know that I was. _But then again I'd like to have a moment with Tidus alone before everybody would come stampeding in._ I debated with myself. _Ill let them know after I spend a few minutes with him,_ I finally decided, putting my cell back in my purse.

"Well let me just get your release paper to sign and you'll be set to go." She told me, turning around to fish a paper out of the file cabinet. "Here we go," she turned back around setting a paper before me and a pen.

"Ok great," I replied sighing. "I thought I'd never get out of here" I lamented.

"I can imagine," she replied taking the paper I signed.

"You don't want to," I joked laughing for the first time in I couldn't remember how long.

"Well your all set Yuna", she said, handing me a copy of the paper.

"Great. Oh Keri, do you know where I can find Nurse Bergen?" I asked, "Doctor Niyum told me to talk to her before I go see Tidus."

"Nurse Leona Bergen? Yeah, she should be back in a few minutes she went downstairs to take care of something. Probably to get another pile of paperwork for me." She replied shaking her head looking a little bitter.

"Sounds like you don't exactly care for her too much," I inquired smiling sadly at her.

"It's not that I have a problem with authority or anything, but there's just something about her, I'm not the only one who's dealt with her before, she's worked nearly every ward and location in this hospital. She always somehow jumps into a slot before anyone else even hears about the opening." She explained. "But I shouldn't bad mouth anybody."

"Your not Keri, your just explaining, you can always talk to me about anything, please know that." I offered with a smile.

"Thank you Yuna." She smiled, gratefully.

"That's what friends are for." I said nodding and returning her smile.

At that moment we heard the elevator chime and open, and Nurse Bergen came strolling out.

"There she is," Keri whispered, getting back to work.

She made it down the hall to us in light speed, heavily setting a stack of papers on Keri's desk.

"These are to be done by noon Miss Cheffers." She ordered firmly.

"Yes ma'am" Keri replied, glancing at me sadly. Nurse Bergen then turned to me with a smile, that I could have sworn I'd seen before.

"I'm Nurse Leona Bergen," she stated, shaking my hand briefly. _Why does that last name sound familiar?_ I asked myself, shaking her hand back.

"I just released Miss Higurashi and she was waiting to find out about patient Tidus Williams." Keri interjected.

Nurse Bergen turned to Keri with an exasperated sign, "I do believe she is quite capable of telling me details such as those herself, secondly I didn't ask them of you Miss Cheffers". She finished glaring at her, picking up her clipboard.

"Not that I wouldn't know who Yuna Higurashi is, everyone does." Nurse Bergen added, chuckling darkly, writing on her clipboard.

Keri looked down and went back to her work. "I think she was just trying to help me, I'm still getting used to being released and back to normal." I jumped in laughing trying to lighten the mood.

Nurse Bergen chuckled, in a robotic way, "Yes well she knows how to help, and that means doing her job." She shot at Keri with a ridiculing smile, who was sorting papers looking on the verge of tears.

"Now you inquired about patient Tidus Williams?" Nurse Bergen asked walking me away from the desk.

"Yes. My fiancé." I smiled. "Can I see him and stay in his room?" I asked.

"Congratulations," she said with no emotion. "And according to hospital rules, yes, you may."

"That's great, thank you." I replied happily, "How is he?"

"Doing very well," she replied not looking at me but rather in the distance seemingly deep in thought about something.

"Well great, thank you so much Nurse Bergen," I said gratefully, reaching to shake her hand.

She toke my hand shaking it back, "Please feel free to call me Leona." She replied, her eyes sparkling oddly.

"I appreciate you taking such good care of him when I couldn't" I continued.

"It's my pleasure, he's my special patient after all." She smiled in a fake way.

I shook my head slightly still smiling, "How do you mean?" I asked a little confused about how she had put that.

"I'm a huge supporter of the military Miss Higurashi, and he's such a brave soldier, with all he has to put up with," she said, locking eyes with me on the last part. "Well I have duties to attend to, have a wonderful day Yuna." She smiled one last time then turned heading down the hall and disappearing into the elevator. _Gone as quick as she had came_. I thought to myself_,_ I could see what Keri meant now.

_Why would she call him her "special patient"? _I asked myself, _Well he probably is the only wounded soldier in this hospital" _I concluded.

I shook off the feeling Nurse Bergen had given me and the thoughts as I wandered into the small gift shop I spotted on the same floor, picking up some flowers and a teddy bear for my fiancé.

A few minutes later I slowly and carefully opened the door to his room, balancing the flowers and teddy bear in my hands, walking in I saw him laying there so peacefully in his bed, his honey blonde hair looked to have been cut recently, and he was clean shaven. I smiled and walked over about to set his gifts on his bedside table when I noticed someone had beaten me to the punch.

There was a big bouquet of multicolored roses, a card, and a teddy bear bigger then the one I had purchased with "Your mine" sewed in it's chest. Sitting perfectly arranged on his table.

Curious and a little annoyed that someone had done this before me, I set my gifts for him on the chair next to his bed and picked up the card reading it, it was a normal "get well soon card" but with a very unusual signature on it, it had a small flower, except it had a heart for the flower, a stem and two oblong hearts for the leafs.

I tried to figure out who it might be, as I moved the flowers, teddy bear and card to another table across the room. _I don't know anyone who signed like that._ I thought to myself, carefully placing my flowers. And teddy bear on his bedside table. _Oh well must be someone who's an old blitz fan or something._ I resolved inwardly.

After I had arranged them to my satisfaction I turned my attention to my fiance. Sitting on his bed, I leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. "I missed you so much baby," I whispered, unable to hold back a few tears that slipped out. I rested my head on his chest and sighed closing my eyes. I suddenly noticed a faint smell of perfume on or around him, the scent was strikingly familiar for some reason but I couldn't place it.

Putting the thought aside, I gently stroked his face silently praying to Yevon that he'd wake up soon.

There was then a gentle knock on the door, I looked back in time to see Lenne poke her head in.

"Hi Lenne", I smiled.

"I was wondering where you were Yuna", she teased slightly smiling back, walking in pressing her back against the door closing it gently.

"Yeah I was released a little while ago, they said i'm fine, and i'm sorry I didn't tell you or anyone right away I just wanted some time alone with Tidus first before everyone would come".

"No need to explain Yuna, I understand". She said with a knowing smile, relaxing back against the door.

"How is everyone?" I asked.

"Their all fine, you should have been there for your uncle, and cousin's fight though". She chuckled.

"Oh Yevon, will they ever stop?" I asked half tired, half playfully.

"First time for everything I suppose, but I doubt they ever will". She laughed.

"So do I". I agreed laughing as well.

"Well I'll keep them at bay for a little bit longer for you," she said taking her cue to leave as I ran my fingers through Tidus's hair.

"Thank you Lenne, I'll tell them soon, then they can all come in." I smiled.

"Sure thing" she replied smiling back, turning the doorknob to leave when before she could even get her back off the door it opened abruptly, bumping Lenne, making her stumble forward. "What in Yevon..." She started, trailing off as we both saw a head with a pile of blonde braids poke in.

"Rikku don't you ever knock?" Lenne asked annoyed, regaining her composure.

Rikku completely ignoring Lenne, focused on me, "YUNIE!" She exclaimed, running into the room towards me, slamming into me with a tight hug.

I looked over at Lenne, hugging her back. Lenne just sighed and shook her head. "She must have followed me." She replied to my unspoken question. "Because I didn't tell anyone and I thought no one saw me leave." She finished, glaring at the back of Rikku.

"We were so worried Yunie," Rikku said, finally letting me go, "What are you doing up? Are you ok? Did they release you? Lenne why didn't you tell me and everyone that she was?" She asked, turning to Lenne then back to me. "Hows Tidus?" Rikku bombarded us with question after question, that before I could answer any of them, the door opened all the way with everyone pouring in. Mom and Daddy, Auron, Gippal, Uncle Cid, Brother, Lulu, Wakka and Vidina, and finally Paine who stayed back, distancing herself from the rest, which is normal for her, but this time she seemed upset about something.

Once everyone had filled the room and found their standing spot, I stood up flattening my shirt by habit, I cleared my throat and started, "Ok everyone, first i'm sorry for not telling you all when I first got released, I wasn't trying to worry you or keep you in the dark, I just wanted some time with my fiance alone before anything else. I haven't been able to see him for a couple of days. Other then that I spoke to the Doctor and my health is great, so is the baby's, I just need to take it easy and be strong. I want you all to know how grateful I am to have you all here with me and I love you all very much". When I finished I looked over everyone's face and saw all smiles and understanding. I smiled back and turned to my fiancé leaning in kissing him gently on the forehead, "everyone's here for us, and we're all here waiting for you to come back". I whispered softly, a few tears escaping my control. Placing my forehead against his.

"Yunie? What are you thinking about?" Rikku snapped me out of my thoughts as she poked her face into mine.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little irritated.

"You've been sitting there for an hour now just quiet and withdrawn" she explained, which wasn't exactly wrong, I had been sitting at Tidus's bedside since earlier when everyone came pouring in his room.

I sighed and looked around the room at everyone, Mom, Daddy and Auron were by the window talking softly to each other, Wakka and Lulu were sitting on the love seat with Vidina, Lenne was sitting on the other side of Tidus's bed flipping through a magazine. Gippal was sitting in a chair he was sharing with Rikku, Paine was propped up on a counters edge, legs crossed and arms folded. And Uncle Cid and Brother were sitting on the floor playing cards.

I sighed and shook my head at Rikku, who was still looking for an answer.

"Maybe she's contemplating the best way to kill you Rikku". Paine shot at Rikku darkly.

"Oh come on Doctor P, I'm just worried about her". Rikku whined walking towards Paine.

"Then why don't you shut it and give her some peace". Paine retorted, her jaw stiffening.

"Paine"... Rikku continued to whine, resting both hands and her chin on Paine's knee.

"Don't mess with me Rikku". Paine warned sternly, flicking Rikku off her leg.

"Geez, fine". Rikku gave up walking back over to her and Gippal's chair, plopping down on him, resulting in him letting out a groan.

"What?" Rikku asked Gippal after his groan.

"You need to lay off the double choccobo egg omelets babe." He snickered.

"Excuse me!" she snapped, jumping off of him.

"Relax babe, I'm just teasing." He reassured her.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" she shot back, not hearing him.

"No, as I said I was just teasing" he replied, calmly.

"You think I'm fat don't you?" she continued, getting frantic.

"Not yet you're not." Gippal muttered.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" She demanded, getting angry.

"Well, think about it babe, you know you'll gain some weight with certain extracurricular activities." Gippal smirked, prompting a chuckle from everyone in the room.

"Ugh! What the heck are you talking about?" she erupted, blowing a stray braid off her face.

"He means when you get knocked up Rikku." Paine snapped bluntly.

Rikku turned a deep shade of scarlet, partly from embarrassment, partly because of anger.

"Oh, you're on the couch mister!" Rikku huffed.

Gippal laughed, and smugly replied, "Yeah, but you'll be begging me to come to bed before midnight babe."

Laughter rung out from everyone in the room on that note. Even I couldn't help but chuckle as I looked at Tidus, wishing he was here to join in.

"Fine, I'll sleep in the guest room then." she resolved, folding her arms.

"Ah, the only room we haven't remodeled." he shot back, snickering.

Rikku gritted her teeth and in a hushed tone, muttered, "Crid ib Gippal!"

Gippal just threw his head back and laughed. "No matter what room you sleep in, I know I won't get any sleep babe."

Rikku plopped down on his lap, crossed her arms and looked away with a huff.

Gippal leaned close and whispered in her ear loudly, "You KNOW you can't stay away from me."

She moved to slap him with a venomous look in her eyes, but he grabbed her hand before she hit him and grinned, saying, "Not now babe. I'm not in a rough mood."

"Fine, you can walk your sorry butt back to Bikanel, Gippal Kenson." she spat.

"I don't think so love, I've got the keys." he said as he dangled the keys to his Ferrari.

"Give them to me." she demanded as she stuck her hand out.

He pulled on the waist of his jeans and dropped the keys inside. "Come and get 'em babe." he taunted with a smirk, leaning back in the chair folding his arms.

She smiled devilishly, "Maybe later." She leaned in as if to kiss him, then hit him where the keys fell. She broke into a evil laugh as Gippal groaned.

"What did you do that for babe?" he grunted, sounding short of breath.

"Not like you need them anyway." she winked with a smirk.

Gippal just cleared his throat and looked at her, still suffering the consequences of his teasing.

My cousin giggled triumphantly. "No matter what, I still wear the pants Gip." she continued.

"You may wear the pants, but I've still got the shorts babe." he countered.

"You'll have nothing to fill them if you don't stop sugar." she taunted playfully, causing all the men in the room to shudder.

I just looked at Rikku with a disillusioned look on my face. _Sometimes I can't believe I'm related to her. _I thought to my self.

"It's only a matter of time before you'll be too big to wear those pants you like so much babe." he retorted, smiling proudly.

"Uh- uh! I'm not getting pregnant any time soon big boy." she ridiculed, smirking.

"You'll have to excuse my wife everybody, hormones are a bitch." he snickered.

I blinked hard and slowly looked at my cousin. Uncle Cid looked mortified and Brother was holding his cards with his mouth open. Mom and Daddy looked at each other and then back at Rikku. Auron coughed, adjusting his sunglasses. Lenne slowly lowered her book. Everyone's gaze was on them.

Rikku clenched her hands at her sides and almost yelled, "I'm not pregnant!" Zeroing in on me she asked, "Yunie, you're pregnant. You can tell I'm not can't you?"

I just chuckled and said, "Rikku, I'm pregnant and you can't tell that I am yet."

"Woah, touchy babe? I'm sure Yuna would know the symptoms." he said, looking at me.

"Now that I think about it Rikku, you are a little moody. Any cravings yet?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"Yunie, you too? I'm NOT pregnant" she insisted,

"Uh, I wouldn't be too sure about that babe. Remember last week at the office?" Gippal said, looking serious.

"It wasn't at the Machine Faction, it was in the pool!" she countered, looking more and more uncomfortable.

"Gippal leaned back and said, "Wherever you want it babe."

"There's not enough chlorine in the world." Paine muttered.

"I didn't know you had a wild side Rikku." Lenne chuckled.

"I... don't have a wild side. I'm just... spontaneous. Y-yeah, spontaneous!" she nervously explained, getting embarrassed.

Mom stepped in, looking at Rikku closely. "Those shorts look a little tight hun. Are you SURE you're not?" she asked, winking at me.

Auron chuckled and said, "Must be something in the water."

Daddy rubbed his hands and smiled, saying, "Ah great. Another kid to spoil"

"I'm too young to be a grandfather." Uncle Cid said while shaking his head.

"Oh stop Cid, you're two years younger than me." Mom corrected.

"I'm not I tell you! I think I would know, you know." Rikku huffed.

Paine looked over her sunglasses at Rikku, simply asking, "You?"

"Yeah! Besides, I'm always the one jumping hi-" she clamped her hands over her mouth, looking quite horrified.

"Woah, I think that's a little too much info ya?" Wakka interjected, laughing. Lulu had a smirk on her face as she watched.

"Oh you hush tubby." she hissed. She got close to Gippal and whispered, "You did use a condom last time right?"

Gippal burst out laughing.

"Wow Gippal, I'm surprised you get any work done." I said, laughing along.

"Gippal..." she warned, glaring at him.

"Even with the extra work load, I still manage to keep deadlines, Yuna." he boasted.

"So now I'm an extra workload?" she spat, getting angry.

"No, you just take a while to finish." he replied, cackling.

"Rikku, you're as red as that choccobo." Brother said pointing at her.

"Crid ib oui eteud!" Rikku shot back at her brother.

"That's because your so SLOW" She shot at her husband.

"Hey, I take my time to do the job right babe. Gotta make sure the kids turn out like me." he replied.

"What, a brainless smart-ass?" countered Paine.

"Ouch. Both sides huh Paine?" he chuckled. Paine just shrugged as Gippal wrapped an arm around Rikku and said, "Hey, I may be a smart-ass, but I got a real winner here."

"Only because she showed up on the wrong day."

"What'd I get, king of the idiots?" Rikku said as she throws his arm off.

"Clueless as always Rikku." Lenne commented, shaking her head.

"I am not!" Rikku defended.

"Look everyone," I started as I slid off Tidus's bed. "It's 12:30, why don't we all go down and get some lunch?" I suggested.

"Yeah, you have to keep up your strength babe, your eating for two now". Gippal remarked, chuckling as he stood up.

_Just when I thought it was over. _ I thought to myself, shaking my head.

"Dammit Gippal!" Rikku exclaimed, storming out the door and down the hall.

Everyone stood up and followed.

"Coming Yuna?" Lenne asked, staying behind.

"Yeah, I'm coming" I replied softly as I placed a soft kiss on my fiancé's cheek, I trailed my hand gently across his bed, grabbing my purse on my way out the door with Lenne.

When I paused in the doorway I felt a hand on my shoulder, following a soft. "Come on" from Lenne.

I closed the door with a soft snap, and hitched my purse up under my arm as Lenne and I headed toward the elevator silently.

"He'll be alright Yuna." She said as we walked.

"My heart knows it, but my mind won't let me believe" I sighed.

"Just keep holding on Yuna" she replied.

"Always" I stated simply, smiling to myself at the word.

We headed down to the cafeteria, chatting all the way. When we got to the cafeteria, we both grabbed our trays and went for our food. I headed over to the grill and grabbed a burger with fries. Lenne got some pasta dish with grilled chicken.

I stopped at the soda fountain and filled my cup with Coke, while Lenne got some iced tea. She glanced at my tray and headed for the cash register.

"You should probably get something a little healthier Yuna." she commented as she handed her money to the clerk.

"I know, I just wanted something quick so I could get back to Tidus." I said.

"Still, you're eating for two now." my friend replied as we went to sit with everyone else.

Rikku was still fussing at Gippal when we sat down.

"I'm not pregnant I tell you!"

"Whatever you want to think babe. Time will tell." Gippal said, chuckling as he took a bite out of his burger. My cousin hit her husband over the head and started eating, glaring at him.

I sighed, shaking my head at the two and started putting the toppings on my hamburger. I saw mom glance at me and sigh as I picked up a couple of fries drenched with ketchup and popped them in my mouth.

Shrugging, I piled several fries on top of my burger and took a huge bite, almost like I haven't eaten in days.

"Don't choke ya?" said Wakka, smiling slightly as he dug into his grilled Zu sandwich.

I swallowed my bite and said, " I wont. This tastes better than what they brought me in the room. I actually _had_ to choke that gruel down." I smirked before I took another bite.

"Still, you shouldn't eat so fast dear. Its not lady-like." said mom.

"Yes mother." I responded, slightly irritated. _Like it's my fault I want to get back to Tidus as quick as I can. _I thought as I took a third bite.

The rest of the meal went without incident, sans Rikku proclaiming that she wasn't pregnant. Everyone else had gone about their business. I rounded the corner and found mom looking out the window at the nearby courtyard. Upon hearing my footsteps, she turned.

"What is it mom?" I asked as I stopped in front of her.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking." she replied with that motherly smile.

"About what?"

"Well, I saw your meal of choice. You should really think about healthier foods while you're pregnant dear." she said.

"What's wrong with what I ate?" I asked, crossing my arms. I hated getting corrected.

"While a burger and fries taste good, they do have a lot of grease and salt. I also noticed you put a lot of ketchup on them."

"But I had vegetables on it too." I countered, heading towards the elevator, still looking at my mother.

"True, but it wasn't enough. You should probably think about not only eating more veggies, but about watching how much salt and grease you eat too." she replied as we reached the elevator. "We all want the baby to grow up big and strong like his father."

"Her father, you mean." I said smiling knowingly.

Mom smiled sweetly and kissed me on the cheek. "Mother's intuition already kicking in I see."

"Well, I found out in a dream." I said as the elevator stopped on the eighth floor.

"Ah, dreams can be a window into reality. Have you thought of a name?" she asked as we stepped out.

"Acuria. That was also mentioned in the dream." I said, before looking ahead at Tidus' room. A wave of fear washed over me as I witnessed some people walk into his room. From what I could see, there were about six.

"What's going on?" I asked as they moved his bed toward the door.

"Oh, Yuna. This is Doctor Raines our resident neurologist." said Keri as we approached, introducing me to a middle aged Al Bhed.

"Hello Lady Yuna." he said, shaking my and my mother's hand. "We're just taking your husband down for a CAT scan to check for improved brain function."

I nodded understandingly. "How long before he comes back doctor?" I asked, reaching subconsciously for my necklace.

The doctor paused for a moment, observing me. "Your husband gave you that recently didn't he?"

"It was a gift for my birthday this year. April twenty-third." I replied, wondering why he would ask.

"Between you and me, that necklace could be a key in helping him regain his memory after he wakes up." he said in a lowered voice. "If you believe in the significance of Pyreflies."

"When will that be?" I asked, feeling hope rise within me.

He sighed. "I would love to be able to tell you when. It could be later today and it could be in ten years. When someone's comatose it's impossible to say just how long they will be." he responded sadly. "We'll have him back in his room in about an hour."

"Thank you doctor." I said with a sigh, removing my hand from the necklace.

He smiled as he started walking. "Have a good day Lady Yuna."

"He'll be ok Yuna. Doctor Raines is the best neurologist we have here. Tidus is in the best hands he could hope to be in." said Keri with a warm, reassuring smile as she headed to the nurse's station.

"Tidus will be okay dear." Mom said as we took our seats in the plush chairs in one corner of the room.

"I know mom. I just hope he wakes up soon." I said with a heavy sigh.

"He will." mom smiled as she turned her attention to the window.

I reached for my notepad laying on the table and picked up my pen, lost in thought.

A couple of hours passed. Tidus was brought back, still looking like he was sleeping peacefully. The patient transporter thanked me for Tidus' service in the Guard and offered his condolences. After he left, our friends and family started to filter back in. I wished Jecht and Shadia were in attendance.

I sighed and stroked my fiance's hand softly, before standing up and addressing everyone.

"Listen everyone," I started, Waiting until I had their attention. "I love you all and appreciate you all being here and the support, but clearly nothings going to happen right now. It could be quite a while, and I doubt the hospital is going to allow this many people in one room for long, so you should all go get some fresh air, relax, take care of some things that I'm sure have been pushed back since all this happened. I will let you all know if something major happens, or anything". I looked at their faces seeing one unspoken question, _"what about you?". _Sighing and smiling at my fiance, "I'm staying here with Tidus".

After everyone had said their goodbyes to me and Tidus, I was once again alone with Tidus. I sat back in the chair at his side, kissing him on the cheek, resting my head next to his on the pillow.

**Three days later**.

I hadn't left Tidus's side once, other then for the basics, something to snack on, the bathroom or nurses and doctors coming in to check up on him, or to refresh his flowers.

Everyone had been calling and texting me, wondering how Tidus and I were.

It was early afternoon, and I was sitting at his side, writing a song in my notepad, or at least trying to.

That was another topic in all the calls and texts from Lenne and Rikku; our group The Gullwings. I knew we had fallen very behind to what we promised our fans, but Tidus and our baby took center stage in my book.

_But since I was doing nothing but sitting here, the least I could do was try to write._ I thought to that thought there was a knock on the door. "Come in" I answered, not looking up thinking it was just the nurse or doctor again.

But to my surprise it was Lenne and Rikku. "Hi guys" I smiled, putting my notepad on the bedside table. "This is a nice surprise" I replied.

"We just thought we should check on you, give you some company." Lenne explained,

"Yup yup." Rikku agreed.

"Well, I appreciate it, but I get the feeling there's another reason you came by..." I trailed off getting a funny feeling.

"Listen Yunie", Rikku started, sitting at the foot of Tidus's bed. "Why don't you get out for a while and we'll work on our group some?" She finished sheepishly.

"Yeah, get out and get some fresh air, clear your head". Lenne added. Smiling at me hopefully.

"I know we need to get some work done on our group and songs, and I really appreciate it, but I won't leave his side. I want to be here when he wakes up. I'm not missing that for anything". I stated.

"Yuna, do you really think Tidus would want you spending all your time here wasting away?" Lenne asked simply.

"Exactly Yunie, he would want you to get out and back into the swing of things". Rikku added.

"So what are you both saying? That he's never going to wake up?" I snapped angrily.

"Nobody's saying that Yuna and you know it, we just care about you as much as Tidus does". Lenne replied, soothingly.

"That's right Yunie, just come out with us for a little while". Rikku pleaded.

"Besides, remember the auditions we opened for another singer? Well we have a taker who's trying out at three, and since it's our group, you need to be there." She finished.

I sighed, defeated. "Ok I'll come, but I'm not staying long and I'll be coming right back here." I stated, getting up gathering my things before bending over to kiss Tidus softly. "I'll be back shortly baby" I whispered in his ear.

**Paine's Pov**

" Shit" I grumbled, glancing at my watch as I left my apartment. I had just gotten a call from Rikku about the auditions today, I was going to be late. _Damn that blonde, she could have told me sooner._ I thought to myself.

I jumped on my bike, popping the clutch and riding off, mentally taking note if I had remembered my notepad, it had some new songs I had wrote. I wasn't too keen on letting someone sing them for the auditions, but the singer we were looking for had to have a tone and style similar to my own.

The auditions were at three, it was two forty-five now and I was a good thirty minutes out. Picking up speed I slid in and out of traffic, taking as many short cuts that I knew of. When I heard sirens behind me, looking in my mirror. Sure enough there was a Bevelle police car flagging me. I pulled to the right coming to a stop on the shoulder, the cop came to a stop about ten feet behind me. I turned my bike off and sat on it sideways waiting for the cop, grumbling to myself.

When I looked up in the cop's direction, I once again saw the last person I ever wanted to.

I shook my head. "You got to be shitting me" I said to myself as he walked up to me.

"Hello again Enya" he started.

"What the hell is your problem?" I cutting him off, getting pissed. _What did he just pull me over to "talk"? _I wondered bitterly.

"That's no way to talk to an officer Enya," he scolded lightly.

"Oh? you think this is bad? Hmm well let me think..." I trailed off tapping my nail on my chin sarcastically, "How about fuck off? Or did you not hear that last time?" I asked, glaring at him.

He sighed, taking his sunglasses off, "Look Enya regardless of what you think I didn't pull you over to trap you into listening to me:"

"Yeah right, then what the hell do you want?" I snapped.

"To discuss your driving Enya" he stated.

"What about it officer?" I asked, arrogantly.

"Well, you were weaving in and out of traffic, doing fifteen over the limit, and cutting people off." He rambled on.

"Ok, and? Or you going to give me a ticket or something so I can get out of here". I demanded.

"Do you feel that's what you need Enya?" He asked.

"Oh don't give me that psychologist bullshit. Just make up your damn mind already so I can leave." I snapped back.

"I'm just giving you a warning this time Enya, but on a personal note, I do have something to tell you that you need to know." He started.

"I don't give a shit what you want, need, or wish to tell me. I've got nothing to say nor do I want anything to do with you." I shot back, climbing back on my bike, starting it, glancing at my watch that read three o'clock. _I'm going to be thirty minutes late now_. I fumed to myself.

"Enya you really should listen to me." he tried again.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear the past two times." I started, gripping the handle bars, looking back at him over my shoulder with a scowl. "Fuck off". And with that I took off, seeing him watch me in my mirror, as a cloud of dust surrounded him.

**Auditions. Audtitioner's Pov**

I stopped my bike, in the alley outside the audition room. Grabbing my bag and adjusting my hat I walked in the door on the side of the building, walking in a saw a table where three girls sat, a few instruments, and a stool and microphone in front of them.

"Hiya there" the blonde one said first, making the other two look up and smile. They greeted me as well.

"Hello" I returned simply.

The blonde one spoke again, "I'm Rikku, and this is Lenne", she said placing her hand on the shoulder of the girl sitting next to her, "and that's Yuna", she finished point to the girl at the end.

"Rhea" I replied.

"Nice to meet ya Rhea" Rikku chirped.

_Is she always this cheerful?_ I wondered to myself.

"Ok so to start with, tell us a little about yourself." Rikku chirped with a grin.

_Oh give me a break, not a q/a session _I thought to myself.

"Rikku..." Yuna and Lenne groaned.

"What?" She asked, putting her hands up. "She's going to be one of us so we need to know".

"What is this some kind of cult?" I asked sarcastically. They all chuckled at that.

"No of course not Rhea, Rikku's our PR girl/singer a lot of the time" Lenne explained

"Why don't you tell us a little bit, and then we'll get right down to business Rhea." Yuna offered looking in a hurry for some reason.

"Ok, I'm 20, a bartender/Singer/Musician/songwriter, I play the piano and Guitar, I ride a motorcycle, live in a crappy hole in the wall apartment. And that's about it". I finished.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Rikku inquired.

"Excuse me? What the hell does that have to do with my musical ability?" I asked, rather irritated.

"Rikku don't start." Lenne warned, glaring at her.

"Start what? I'm just asking to get to know her." Rikku shot back defensively.

"Can we just get on with it you two, I don't have all day. I'd like to get back to the hospital" Yuna interjected.

"Look you three, I'm just here to try out, and not to be rude or anything but i'm not interested in being friends or play this 'get to know you game' that the PR blonde came up with. So do you want to hear me sing or am I leaving?" I asked starting to walk away.

"No!" they all said at once.

"Please stay we want to hear you" Yuna smiled.

"Yes we do", Lenne agreed. "Now do you have a song you would like to start with? Or one we pick?" she asked.

"Doesn't matter to me" I shrugged. "I can make anything work".

"We need a song that fits her vocal tone and style to be able to get a good idea" Lenne lamented to Yuna and Rikku.

"Where the heck is Paine anyway? She'd have a song we could use" Rikku complained looking at the clock.

"Who?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"She's the other girl in our group, and a good friend" Rikku explained.

"Oh hell, there's more of you?" I asked, not wanting to believe it, adjusting my hat by habit.

"Yup yup" Rikku giggled.

_Blondes I swear _I thought to myself, shaking my head

"Well how about 'Every time We Touch'?" Rikku suddenly asked.

"Oh please", I cringed. "No sappy crap, I don't do that shit." I stated.

"Yevon she's just like Paine", Lenne said, chuckling.

"No Kidding" Rikku added laughing.

"I'm like no one but myself, thank you very much" I boasted, placing one hand on my hip.

"Paine's already fifteen minutes late, and we need to hear you sing. Hmm..." Yuna trailed off, getting up and walking over to the other end of the table where there was a backpack/purse quite like my own.

She pulled out a notepad and flipped through it, "Here sing this one for us" she said, pulling out a page and handing it to me.

"It was titled, "Too Late" By Paine S something, I couldn't make out the rest of the letters, they seemed to have been erased.

Rikku suddenly looked like a choccobo in the headlights, "That's Paine's songs Yunie, and you know how she is about 'Her Stuff'". She warned shakily.

"She can take it up with me later" Yuna replied shaking her head.

"Whenever your ready Rhea" she let me know, picking up her notepad and pencil looking at me.

"Go for it Rhea" Lenne added smiling, her and Rikku picking up their notepads and pencils as well, watching me.

I sat down on the stool, propping the heal of my right boot on the bottom of the stool bar, clearing my throat and began carefully reading the song before me, starting to sing.

"_I'm holding on your rope got me ten feet off the ground, _

"A_nd I'm hearing what you say but I just cant make a sound, _

"Y_ou tell me that you need me, then you go and cut me down. _

"_But wait, you tell me that your sorry, didn't think I'd turn around._

_-But it's too late to apologize—-_

"_-It's too late-_

"_I said it's too late to apologize-"_

"_-It's too late-"_

"_I take another chance, take a fall, take a shot for you"_

"_I need you like a heart needs a beat but that's nothing new"_

"_-Yeah...Yeah-"_

"_I loved you with a fire red now it's turning blue"_

"_And you say-"_

"_Sorry like the angel heaven let me think was you"_

"_But i'm afraid _

_its too late to apologize-"_

"_-It's too late-"_

"_I said it's too late to apologize-"_

"_It's too late-"_

"_Whoa Whoah-"_

"_It's too late to apologize-"_

"_It's too late-"_

"_I said it's too late to apologize-"_

"_It's too late-"_

I stepped it up a notch.

"_I said it's too late to apologize yea yeah eh yeah-"_

"_It's too late to apologize yeah-"_

"_I'm holding on your rope got me ten feet off the ground-"_

I finished, sighing before opening my eyes looking at the three of them.

Funny thing was that I could never relate to any songs other then the ones I wrote, but this one seemed to familiar to me, it fit. The reason it did I had long since put behind me.

"Well?" I asked, looking at the three girls who seemed in shock over something. W_hat the hell is their problem anyhow?"_ I asked myself.

"That...that was great" Lenne struggled.

"It was amazing. Excellent job Rhea," Yuna praised smiling at me.

"Wow is all I can say" Rikku grinned.

"Thanks, so do I have the job?" I countered with a slight smirk.

"Well, we certainly agree that your a perfect fit, but before we vote on it we need our fourth girl here". Lenne explained.

"Oh, let's vote without her, I mean Yuna already went through Paine's songs, so we've really got nothing to lose here." Rikku said playfully.

"No Rikku" Yuna put her foot down.

"We all need to be here for the voting" Lenne added.

"Well whenever you all decide, you can find me at the bar most of the time." I told them, grabbing my bag, placing the song on the table in front of them. "I'm not waiting all day for her highness to show up". I remarked before walking towards the door.

**Paine's Pov**

I finally pulled up in the alley outside the audition building, as predicted thirty minutes late, stopping just behind a bike like my own, just a different model.

I hopped off and walked towards the door opening it to go in just as someone was opening it to come out, nearly slamming into a girl the same height as me.

"Excuse me" I apologized quietly, looking down, lost in thought and fuming over my 'cop encounter'.

"There are no excuses" she retorted back, as we just brushed by each other in the doorway.

"Whatever" I shot back, walking in to see the three of them.

"About time Doctor P.", Rikku started.

"Shut it Rikku". I warned her.

"Why are you late Paine?" Lenne asked simply.

"I got held up" I explained, not for one minute planning on telling them why and by who.

"Well you just missed our tryout, Rhea, she's pretty amazing." Yuna interjected.

"You mean that arrogant bitch that nearly leveled me in the doorway?", I asked, fuming again.

"Paine, what's the matter?" Yuna asked looking concerned now.

"Nothing, so did you all vote her in or what?" I asked changing the subject.

"Not without you, but we were going to have her wait and sing for you, but she said she wasn't going to wait, and that we could find her when we made up our minds". Lenne informed me.

"Pft, nice attitude, forget her then". I concluded.

"Paine, you don't want us to forget this one, she's good, and I mean real good". Yuna advised.

"Yeah totally, go catch her before she leaves" Rikku added.

"Give me a break guys. I'm not in the mood" I stated, folding my arms.

"Just go get her, you won't be disappointed". Lenne urged.

"Fine, hell" I huffed, walking quickly out the door, to find her.

When I found this "Rhea" she was bent over searching through her bag by her bike.

"Excuse me, Rhea?" I inquired.

"Yeah" she replied, still digging through her bag, not looking up. She was wearing black jeans, a deep red and black long sleeve shirt, with a waist length grey vest black leather boots, and a black hat.

"I'm Paine, I apologize for being late". I replied politely, not quite believing that I was apologizing to a complete stranger.

"Let me guess, you want me to come in and sing again so you can hear me, and vote right?" She asked, disregarding my apology.

"Well if that's how you want to be then go sing for another group". I shrugged, I wasn't about to take this attitude from anybody today.

"Jumpy aren't we?" She shot back. "I'll do it, lucky for you I don't work today". She stood up and pushed past me, and back into the audition room.

I followed her back in, she was already sitting on the stool waiting, when I came in.

"Yay! Rhea and Paines back!" Rikku cheered.

"Do you ever shut up?" I asked her, taking my seat, finding that I had left my bag here. I started searching through it for my notepad.

"Where is it?" I mumbled to myself.

"Here Paine", Yuna said, interrupting my search, as she slid my notepad down the table to me.

"Yuna, what the hell?" I started, but she waved it off, saying, "You can attack me later for it, we needed a song Paine".

I sighed, and picked it up looking for the song. "Here" I started, standing up and walking over to Rhea, "Sing this one." I told her, handing her a paper.

I quickly returned to my seat, picking up my notepad and pencil, looking up in time to see something I never thought id ever see.

I blinked and cocked an eyebrow as, Rhea, took off her hat, revealing choppy layered black hair, with silver highlights, dark reddish/brown eyes. Then I noticed it, she had a birthmark on her upper right cheek, looking like a freckle. I had one in the very same spot. She was an exact match to me.

Still in shock, I looked at the girls to see the very same on their faces, Yuna and Lenne looked at each other nervously. Rikku was starring at Rhea not blinking, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Before Rikku could utter a sound, I grabbed a cookie from the plate on the table, and shoved it in her mouth without breaking my gaze at Rhea.

Rhea had locked eyes with me, with the very same look I know I had on my face. _What the hell is going on here?_ I wondered to myself.

I finally cleared my throat, and looked away. "Well get on with it, we don't have all day". I said. Trying to distract myself with my notepad. _This is ridiculous, I never let myself get flustered by anything._ I mentally fussed at myself. _But who the hell is she? And why does she look and have the same exact style as me?_ I shook my head trying to focus on waiting for her to sing.

Then closing her eyes she started to sing...

"I know I can't take one more step towards you,

"Cause all that's waiting is regret,

"And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore?"

"You lost the love I loved the most"

"And I learned to live, half-alive"

"And now you want me back"

"Who do you think you are?"

"Runnin' round leaving scars"

"Collecting your jar of hearts"

"And tearing life apart"

"You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul"

"So don't come back for me"

"Who do you think you are?"

"I hear you're asking all around"

"If I am anywhere to be found"

"But I have grown too strong"

"To ever need you again"

"And I learned to live, half-alive"

"And now you want me back one more time"

"Who do you think you are?"

"Runnin' round leaving scars"

"Collecting your jar of hearts"

"And tearing life apart"

"Your gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul"

"So don't come back for me"

"Don't come back at all"-.

"Who do you think you are-"

When Rhea finished she appeared close to tears, but quickly recovered and nearly bolted off the stool and over to me, dropping the song in front of me. "So?" she inquired, looking me dead in the eyes.

I sat there taken aback over what I just witnessed, somehow a managed to find the words for, "We''ll be in contact, thank you".

"Awesome" she replied as she turned heel, swept up her things, and strolled out the door.

I sat back against my chair, still in shock, trying to figure out what was going on here.

"Paine" Yuna suddenly called, making me look in her direction.

Looking at her, with the same look of shock and confusion, she just shook her head and sat back as did Lenne.

"Paine you have a twin!" Rikku exclaimed, finally finding her voice, much to my dismay.

"Oh please Rikku. Just shut up" I groaned, getting up.

"But...but didn't you see?" she stuttered.

"No I didn't Rikku, I'm blind remember?" I shot back, getting pissed all over again.

"She's just a look alike," I concluded, gathering my things.

"That's no look alike Paine, she even sounds like you" Lenne stated quietly.

"No shit Lenne really?" I shot back at her, sharply.

"That's enough Paine." Yuna warned me. "We've all got stuff going on and don't need this attitude from you." she stated firmly, looking at me.

"Well look who's got some balls," I taunted. "Sure had enough to go through my bag and steal one of my songs!".

"I do not steal! I borrowed a song because we needed it for her"

"Which song was it?" I asked, ignoring her.

"Too late" she answered simply.

"Fucking great" I muttered, storming out the door.

"Paine!" they all called out.

**Bevelle Police Headquarters. Paine's Pov**

I brought my bike to a halt outside of Bevelle Police Headquarters, hopped off and headed in quickly.

I had no idea who the hell this "Rhea" was, or what was going on, but I knew the one person who could tell me, whether he wanted to now or not.

I stormed in and through the halls and doors, past cops and their offices, till I came to the biggest office in the building, on the door it read "Bevelle Chief of Police, Auron Sanders".

Glaring at the name I jerked open the door abruptly without knocking, the door swung and hit the wall behind it as I bolted in and up to his desk.

He looked up over his glasses, from a stack of paper work on his desk.

"Enya?" He asked, looking surprised and confused.

"That's right jackass, now what the hell is going on?" I asked, feeling my blood about to boil.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, not understanding.

"Don't you dare play dumb with me" I warned. "You know very well what". I pushed.

"I'm afraid I don't Enya" He insisted.

"Well, how about the fact that I have a sister, oh and we're twins!" I shouted at him, leaning over his desk with my fists planted firmly on the solid oak.

He sighed, taking off his glasses. "Enya I tried to tell you" he replied, sitting back.

"The hell you did!" I shot back.

"Yes Enya, I did. I've been trying to talk to you and get everything clear about all those years ago. But you haven't been letting me get a word in edge wise".

"Yeah blame someone else, how original. Usually it's Mom".

"That's not true" He argued.

"Bullshit!" I shouted in his face, slamming my fist on his desk.

"Enya, that's enough" he warned.

"Oh, is the chief going to have me removed?" I asked, arrogantly.

"No, but I will have you put in the cell for a few, for harassing an officer".

"Whatever, I'm gone, I don't know why I even tried talking to you".

"Enya, your mother didn't want you girls finding out from either one of us, that's why". He called out as I was walking away.

I stopped in the doorway, and glared back at him, listening.

"Yes, she is your twin Enya. He continued. "You and her were separated at one year old. I took Rhea, and you mother took you. Rhea ran off when she was fifteen and I haven't see her since. I tried my best to be a part of both your lives, and I know I could have done better. But I want that chance again". He finished, looking serious, leaning on his elbows on the desk.

"Well, it's too late". I replied, leaving out the door.

**The Hospital. Yuna's Pov**

I gently opened the door to my fiancé's hospital room, happy to once again be back by his side.

Walking over, I gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, sitting back in my chair at his bedside.

_I wonder what had gotten Paine so upset, she's never that sharp with any of us._ I thought to myself.

Shaking off the thought, I raked my fingers through his hair slowly, "I wish you were here with me baby" I whispered in his ear.

Sighing, I trailed my hand over the covered bullet wound near his shoulder and the cast on his arm, yawning before I reached down and pulled out my notepad again, trying to work on my songs.

_I shivered for the hundredth time, as I found myself walking slowly through a misty field, it was so cold and breezy and wet, I looked down to see myself wearing a black dress, with white lace sleeves, I pulled the dark shawl around my shoulders even tighter against me as another gust blew right through me. _

_Through the mist and fog I squinted trying to make out where exactly I was, then I realized I was in a cemetery, all the white and grey markers coming into sight now, stained with dirt and mud, some covered with ivy and grass, some cracked and chipped._

_My legs seemed to have direction and a knowledge of their own, for I was still walking somewhere without control, headed for one certain place in this lonely sad place._

_I continued walking, right then left, then up a row and over, suddenly stopping for a moment, sighting in the distance, a willow tree covered in moss, in a corner on a small hill, with a modest pond behind it._

_Then before I could understand I was moving again, walking smoothly towards this location, suddenly feeling very sad and lonely, my heart hurting and feeling heavy._

_Finally making it there, starting to climb the small hill, looking up and ahead as I did, noticing two simple pearl colored markers, coming into sight, both side by side, looking very clean and taken care of unlike so many others in this place, that seemed to have been forgotten and abandoned._

_Walking up to them, I bent down reaching out to rub some grass off of them to see who's they were._

_Then all the happiness and life felt like it was drained out of me that very moment, my heart fell to my feet, as I let my hand drop to the muddy cold ground, squinting once again but this time from the hot tears pouring out of my eyes as I read both headers one at a time._

_Tidus Williams_

_Born 08/05/1983_

_Died 08/23/2006_

_Beloved soldier_

_Friend_

_Father _

_And_

_Husband_

_Acuria _

_Born 08/23/2006_

_Died 08/23/2006_

_Sweet angel of Tidus and Yuna._

_By the time I had finished reading them, I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore, or like I didn't want to. I was crying so hard the words on the markers that were clear just seconds ago were fading from sight once again. I felt dizzy and sick; I didn't want to go on anymore. Suddenly I was on my feet but this time, running. I didn't know where though, I just knew I wanted out. I had nothing to live for now; all my happiness in this world was gone, still crying hysterically my legs making my fly through the land, as I saw where they were taking me: this whole cemetery was on the cliff side of a beach._

_Suddenly I was slowing down as I reached a gap in the old broken down fencing surrounding the land. Walking through it carefully, close to the edge I looked out over the gloomy cliff then down at the ice cold grey sea water below. The frigid wind gusted again; thunder rumbling in the distance; a few rocks slipping down the cliff side and into the depths of the ocean as I placed my toes at the edge._

_As tears continued to glide down my face, nearly freezing as they did, I readied myself to jump and end all my heart wrenching pain. I slowly put my arms up at my sides as if I was going to fly. Breathing hard, a small smile started to grace my chapped lips, for once again I was about to be with them. Then I closed my eyes and jumped._

I awoke with a jolt, breathing hard my face wet from tears I guessed, I looked at Tidus who was still looking just as peaceful, then I reached down and touched my barely there baby bump, they were both still here with me and fine, I sighed and tried to calm down, looking out the window at the sun setting, and down at my lap where my notepad was, _I must have dosed off_ I thought to myself, wiping my face with my sleeves, and letting out a long sigh.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the story thus far. Don't forget to review! Please? LOL


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